Updated: October 2, 2020 4:29:05 pm
United States President Donald Trump announced on Twitter early Friday (October 2) morning that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the new coronavirus. “We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get out of this TOGETHER! ” he wrote.
How serious is this development?
Just a positive test alone is not a cause for panic or a sign of urgent action of any kind. The president’s physician, Sean P Conley, said in a statement that “the president and the first lady are doing well at this time and plan to stay at home inside the White House during their convalescence.”
He said he hoped the president “will continue to serve without interruption while he recovers.”
That said, Trump is 74 years old and belongs to the demographic hardest hit by the virus in the world. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in an updated advisory on September 11: “As you get older, your risk of serious illness from Covid-19 increases. For example, 50-year-olds are at higher risk of serious illness than 40-year-olds. Similarly, people in their 60s or 70s are generally at higher risk of serious illness than people in their 50s. The highest risk of severe illness from Covid-19 is among those 85 years of age and older. “
So far, more than 2 lakh people have died from Covid-19 in the US Eight out of 10 of these deaths have been people 65 and older.
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Trump is also overweight, which is one of the classic comorbidities that makes Covid-19 more dangerous. Based on his physical exam in April, CNN reported in June that he weighed 244 pounds, 6 feet 3 inches tall, which meant a body mass index of 30.5, which is technically obese. According to the CDC, obese people are three times more likely than others to end up in the hospital after becoming infected with the new coronavirus.
However, Trump does not have any other known medical conditions that put him at higher risk. CNN reported that his latest physical had detected slightly high blood pressure, but no evidence of cancer, kidney disease, or diabetes, etc.
First lady Melania Trump is much younger than her husband at 50. She is also a former model and looks in excellent physical shape. But not much is known about her general health or her specific ailments, if any.
Is President Trump showing any symptoms?
Not yet known. Reports from the United States say aides to the president do not know if he was showing any symptoms.
However, The New York Times quoted unidentified sources at the White House as saying they had noticed Trump’s voice sounded “hoarse” on Thursday. However, the report added the caveat that “it was not clear that it was abnormal for him (Trump), especially considering the number of campaign rallies he has been holding lately.”
How did Trump get the new coronavirus?
Actually, it could be anyone’s – he’s been meeting a lot of people lately, and a large number of those who attend his re-election campaign rallies are proudly without masks. The president himself is seen wearing a mask only occasionally (although he was seen wearing one last week when he visited the late Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the United States Capitol), making him highly vulnerable to the virus.
A couple of hours before making the announcement about him and the First Lady, Trump tweeted that one of his closest advisers had tested positive for Covid-19.
“Hope Hicks, who has been working so hard without even taking a little break, just tested positive for Covid 19. Terrible! The First Lady and I are awaiting the results of our tests. In the meantime, we will begin our quarantine process! “I had posted on Twitter.
What are the implications of the president getting Covid-19?
Even if the president can continue to work while in isolation, the diagnosis presents challenges for all those who are physically close to him, including the Secret Service that protects him. However, the use of modern technology will likely allow you to distance yourself enough from most attendees.
An article published in July by the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy think tank, had stressed that if the president tests positive, it would be important that those in the line of succession are protected.
“It would be important to keep Vice President (Mike) Pence, Speaker (Nancy) Pelosi, Senator (Chuck) Grassley (President Pro Tempore), and cabinet members isolated from the President. It would be especially important to ensure that the vice president has limited contact with the general public to reduce her chances of contracting the virus as well, ”said the Brookings newspaper.
If Trump becomes seriously ill, and in fact there is nothing to suggest as of now that he could, and should be, “administered therapies that impair his ability to perform the duties of the office,” the Brookings article said, “according to Section 3 of the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, the President can transmit to the House and Senate ‘his written declaration that he cannot fulfill the powers and duties of his office.’
When Section 3 of Amendment 25 is invoked, the Vice President, in this case Pence, becomes the “Acting President” until the President notifies Congress that he may resume his duties.
This happened when Ronald Reagan was president in 1985, and then again in 2002 and 2007, when George W. Bush was president. On each of these occasions, Section 3 was invoked for medical reasons, when the President had to be sedated for a few hours for a surgical procedure.
How could this situation affect the electoral race?
This is where the president and his campaign would be most concerned.
Election day, Nov. 3, is just over a month away, and Trump’s positive test and quarantine mean he can no longer address rallies in person for an unknown number of days.
This is likely to greatly frustrate Trump, because his favorite campaign style is one where he can engage with his supporters and draw energy from their cheers. The isolation in the White House can be expected to have an impact on both his campaign plans and his mood.
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It’s probably too early to speculate on what might happen if you become more seriously ill, and you may need to be hospitalized like Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the UK. But if that contingency does arise, it is very likely that doubts will arise about whether it should continue on the ballot.
It goes without saying that his own illness will deal a severe blow to his claims to have handled the crisis well.
Trump has not only refused to cover his face in public, but has repeatedly questioned its effectiveness, mocked his Democratic rival Joe Biden for insisting on wearing one, and claimed that the “China virus” is about to be defeated.
Literally hours before announcing he was infected, the president had told Al Smith’s 75th annual Dinner on October 1 that “the end of the pandemic is in sight and next year will be one of the best years in the history of our country”. , according to the official White House transcript of his comments.
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