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US President Donald Trump went through a “very worrying” period on Friday and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his attention as he fights the coronavirus, said White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
The comments came after it was revealed that Trump was given supplemental oxygen Friday morning at the White House before being transferred to a military hospital, though staff insisted he had only mild symptoms.
Trump’s doctors, for their part, painted an upbeat picture of the president’s health during a press conference at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
But the report from Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley and other doctors raised more questions than it answered.
Dr. Conley left the question of whether the president needed supplemental oxygen and declined to discuss exactly when he got sick.
The president’s doctor also revealed that Trump began displaying “clinical indications” for Covid-19 on Thursday afternoon, earlier than previously known.
According to a person familiar with Trump’s condition, the president was administered oxygen at the White House on Friday before being transferred to the military hospital.
Dr. Conley, updating the nation on Walter Reed’s president’s condition Saturday afternoon, said Trump had been fever-free for 24 hours.
While Dr. Conley said that the president was not taking oxygen at the time, he declined to say whether the president had ever taken oxygen, despite repeated questioning.
“Thursday without oxygen. None at this time. And yesterday with the team, while we were all here, he was not on oxygen, ”Dr. Conley said.
He said Trump’s symptoms, including coughing and nasal congestion, “are now resolving and improving.”
“He’s in a really good mood,” said another doctor, Sean Dooley.
US President Donald Trump said he is “starting to feel good” in a video message posted from the hospital.
In a message posted late on Saturday, he said: “I came here, I didn’t feel so good, I feel much better now.
“We are working hard to get him back all the way, I have to go back because we still have to make America great again.
“I’ll be right back. I think I’ll be back soon and I hope to finish the campaign as it started.”
The network of people in the president’s circle who have so far been known to have been infected with coronavirus has expanded in the last 24 hours. Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien, former adviser Kellyanne Conway (who attended a ceremony announcing Amy Coney Barrett as the president’s choice for the Supreme Court last Saturday) and three senators have now tested positive. Additionally, former Gov. Chris Christie, who helped prepare Trump for Tuesday night’s debate at the White House, announced Saturday that he had also tested positive.
Vice President Mike Pence tested negative again on Saturday morning, his officials said, and the Trump campaign announced that he will participate in a campaign event in Arizona on Thursday. Under the constitution, Pence would assume power if the president is incapacitated, although the White House has said that there has been no transfer of power and that the president continues to work from presidential offices at the Walter Reed Center.
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, left, greets Dr. Sean Conley, President Donald Trump’s physician. Photograph: Susan Walsh / AP Photo
Higher risk
Trump is 74 years old and clinically obese, putting him at higher risk for serious complications from a virus that has infected more than seven million people nationwide and killed more than 200,000 in the United States.
The administration has been consistently less than transparent about the president’s health as the virus spreads within the White House.
The attendees declined to share basic information about the president’s health, including a full description of his symptoms, the tests he has performed and the results.
The first word that a close associate of Trump had been infected came from the media, not the White House.
In a memo posted Friday night, Dr. Conley reported that Trump had been treated in the hospital with remdesivir, an antiviral drug, after taking another experimental drug at the White House.
He added that Trump “is doing very well” and “does not need supplemental oxygen.”
Dr. Conley declined to say when Trump was last tested before it was confirmed he had Covid-19 late Thursday.
It initially suggested that Trump had 72 hours left to diagnose, putting confirmation of the infection at Wednesday.
Dr. Conley later clarified that Trump was administered an accurate test for the virus Thursday afternoon, after White House aide Hope Hicks was confirmed to be positive and Trump exhibited “clinical indications.” unspecified virus.
The White House said Trump was expected to stay in the hospital for “a few days” and that he would continue to work from the hospital’s presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to fulfill his official duties.
In addition to accessibility to tests and equipment, the decision was made, at least in part, on the understanding that transferring him to the hospital later, if he got worse, could send a worrisome signal.
On Saturday, Dr. Conley said Trump’s blood oxygen level was 96 percent, which is in the normal range.
The two experimental drugs he has received, administered intravenously, have shown some promise against Covid-19.
On Friday, he was given a single dose of a drug Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is testing to deliver antibodies that help his immune system fight the virus.
On Friday night, he began a five-day course of remdesivir, a Gilead Sciences drug currently used for patients with moderate and severe illnesses.
Medications work in different ways: Antibodies help the immune system remove the virus from the body, and remdesivir slows the virus’ ability to multiply.
“We are maximizing all aspects of your care,” attacking the virus in multiple ways, Dr. Conley said.
“He didn’t want to withhold anything if there was any chance that he would add value to his care.” – AP
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