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WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said in video from his hospital room on Saturday (October 3) that he was feeling “much better” and hoped to “be back soon,” after a day of mixed messages from the White House on his condition after his COVID-19 diagnosis.
In a four-minute video posted on Twitter, Trump, looking tired and wearing an open-necked jacket and shirt, said he “didn’t feel so good” when he first arrived at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and that The following days would be crucial in your fight against the coronavirus.
“Over the next few days, I guess that’s the real test, so we’ll see what happens over the next few days,” Trump said, sitting at a round table in front of an American flag.
“I think I’ll be back soon and I hope to finish the campaign as it started,” he added.
READ: Next 48 Hours Critical for Trump in COVID-19 Fight: White House Chief of Staff
The speech came hours after various assessments of his health by administration officials made it unclear how ill the president had become since testing positive for coronavirus Thursday night.
A team of White House doctors said Saturday morning that Trump’s condition was improving and that he was already talking about returning to the White House. One doctor said Trump had told them “‘I feel like I could get out of here today.’
Within minutes, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows gave reporters a less optimistic assessment, telling them: “The president’s vital signs over the past 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours they will be critical in terms of your care – not on a clear path to full recovery. “
Meadows, whose initial comments were provided on the condition that he not be identified, changed his tone hours later, telling Reuters that Trump was “very well” and that “doctors are very satisfied with his vital signs.”
Meadows did not clarify the discrepancy in its comments.
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Trump was airlifted from the White House to Walter Reed, near Washington, about 17 hours after announcing his illness. Administration officials, who described the move as a precautionary measure, said he would remain in the hospital for several days.
Another source who was briefed on Trump’s condition said the president received supplemental oxygen before going to the hospital. The decision to hospitalize Trump came after he experienced shortness of breath and his oxygen level dropped, according to a source familiar with the situation.
White House physician Sean P Conley told reporters outside the hospital Saturday that Trump had not experienced shortness of breath and that Walter Reed was not given oxygen.
“The team and I are very pleased with the progress the president has made,” Conley said. She declined to give a timeline for Trump’s possible release from the hospital.
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Dr. Amesh Adalja, professor of emerging infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins University, said: “If a person is hospitalized, we no longer consider it a mild case.” But he said it was difficult to measure Trump’s medical status based on information publicly provided so far by his doctors.
“Today’s spectacle – the doctors say one thing, the White House sources say something else, and then they both amend their remarks – it only reinforces the credibility problems of this administration,” said Kyle Kondik, a political analyst at the Center for Politics of the University of Virginia.
The diagnosis was the latest setback for the Republican president, who is trailing his Democratic rival Joe Biden in opinion polls ahead of the November 3 presidential election.
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