President Donald Trump will be taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday for treatment for Covid-19, the White House said.
“As a precaution and on the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the President will work from the presidential offices in Walter Reed for the next few days,” said press secretary Kayleigh McEnany in a statement.
McEnany did not say what tests or treatments Trump would receive. She described his symptoms as “mild,” but the plan to send him to the hospital deepened questions about the severity of his illness just a month before the US election.
Also read: Donald Trump has ‘mild’ symptoms of Covid-19
Trump is in a “good mood” after his Covid-19 diagnosis on Friday and has been treated with a “cocktail of antibodies” from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc., the White House doctor said.
“Following PCR confirmation of the President’s diagnosis, as a precautionary measure, he received a single 8-gram dose of Regeneron’s drug,” said Dr. Sean Conley in a statement issued by McEnany.
In addition to antibodies, “the president has been taking zinc, vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin, and a daily aspirin,” Conley said.
Also read: Some parallels in the Covid scripts of Boris Johnson, Donald Trump
Trump “is still tired but in a good mood,” Conley said. First lady Melania Trump, who is also infected, “remains fine with only a mild cough and headache,” she said.
Regeneron’s stock soared in recent trading, rising more than 3% after the market closed in New York. The company’s experimental treatment for Covid-19 has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, but Regeneron confirmed in a statement that it had provided a single dose of the drug for Trump’s use after receiving a request for “compassionate use. ” of the president. doctors.
Trump and his wife have been in isolation in the White House since their diagnosis, which they announced after Bloomberg News reported that one of their closest aides, Hope Hicks, had tested positive for coronavirus infection.
Also read: Donald Trump joins the growing list of world leaders infected by Covid
Conley’s statement was the first update from Trump’s doctor since early Friday morning. The president has not tweeted or made any public statements since announcing his infection at 12:54 a.m. in Washington.
Trump learned of Hicks’ positive test Thursday morning, but continued with his planned schedule for the day, including a fundraiser at his Bedminster, NJ golf resort that raised $ 5 million for his campaign, according to people familiar with the matter.
Trump and Hicks had been in close contact in the days leading up to his diagnosis. She traveled with him to the presidential debate in Cleveland on Tuesday and to campaign events in Minnesota on Wednesday.
Hicks tested negative for infection Wednesday morning, then fell ill in Minnesota and was isolated on the flight back to Washington aboard Air Force One, according to people familiar with the matter.
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