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WASHINGTON: Doctors treating President Donald Trump for COVID-19 are monitoring the condition of his lungs after he received supplemental oxygen, they told reporters on Sunday (October 4), hours before Trump surprised his supporters outside. from the hospital when passing in a caravan.
The 74-year-old Trump wore a mask as he waved from the backseat of a black SUV that crawled in a motorcade in front of the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, while supporters waving Trump 2020 flags chanted “USA! USA! USA! “
In a video posted on Twitter, Trump said he planned “a little surprise” for his fans gathered outside.
Trump has taken two doses of a five-day course of the intravenous antiviral drug Remdesivir, his doctors said in a briefing Sunday morning, as well as the steroid dexamethasone, which is used in severe cases.
US President Donald Trump disembarks from the Marine One helicopter followed by White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows as he arrives at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland on October 2, 2020 ( Photo: REUTERS / Joshua Roberts).
Dr. Sean P Conley acknowledged that Trump’s blood oxygen levels had decreased in previous days and that he had had a high fever on Friday morning, admitting that the president’s condition had been worse than previously revealed. Conley said Trump was improving Sunday.
The briefing came a day after mixed messages from the White House caused widespread confusion about the president’s condition.
Trump spent much of the year minimizing the risks of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has infected 7.4 million Americans, killed more than 209,000 and triggered an economic recession that has left millions out of work.
His illness has upset his re-election campaign as he seeks to fend off Democratic challenger Joe Biden in the final month of the race, and shook the financial markets. Several members of his inner circle also tested positive for the disease, as well as three Republican members of the United States Senate.
READ: What is President Trump’s COVID-19 treatment plan?
Two members of staff at the White House residence tested positive for COVID-19 a few weeks ago, and Trump’s “body man” assistant Nicholas Luna also tested positive, according to a source familiar with the situation.
The New Jersey Department of Health said Sunday that the White House had provided it with the names of more than 200 people who attended a Trump fundraiser at his golf club in Bedminster on Thursday, after the White House learned that counselor Hope Hicks had tested positive.
When asked what the tests had revealed about Trump’s lung condition, Conley replied: “There are some expected findings, but nothing of great clinical concern.”
Supporters hold a vigil for United States President Donald Trump outside the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where Trump is being treated for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Bethesda, Maryland on 3 October 2020 (Photo: REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst). )
Conley’s response suggests that the X-rays revealed some signs of pneumonia, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins University.
“The expected finding is that you have evidence of pneumonia on the X-ray. If it was normal, they would just say it’s normal,” Adalja said.
TREATMENT WITH STEROIDS DEXAMETASONE
Doctors said the president had a high fever Friday morning, but had not had a fever since Friday.
Dr. Brian Garibaldi said Trump was given the steroid dexamethasone in response to “transient low oxygen levels.”
“He got his first dose of that yesterday and our plan is to continue that for now,” Garibaldi said.
Dexamethasone has been shown in studies to improve survival in hospitalized patients with severe or critical COVID-19 who require additional oxygen. But it shouldn’t be given in mild cases, as it can limit the body’s own ability to fight the virus, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America guidelines.
Trump is also receiving an experimental treatment, REGN-COV2 from Regeneron, as well as zinc, vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin and aspirin, his doctors said.
“Our plan for today is for him to eat and drink, to get out of bed as much as possible, to move,” Garibaldi said.
Trump released a four-minute video on Saturday in which he said “real proof” of his condition will come in the next few days.
“Over the next few days, I guess that’s the real test, so we’ll see what happens in the next few days,” Trump told the camera, looking tired and wearing an open-necked jacket and shirt. .
US President Donald Trump, who is being treated for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a military hospital outside Washington, speaks from his hospital room, in this still image taken from video provided. by the White House, October 3, 2020. (Photo: The White House / Handout via REUTERS)
He tweeted thanks to his followers on Sunday morning and afternoon.
“I really appreciate all the fans and supporters outside of the hospital,” Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon.
Supporters of US President Donald Trump take part in a car parade in Columbus, Ohio, on October 3, 2020 (Photo: REUTERS / Megan Jelinger)
Different assessments of Trump’s health by administration officials on Saturday made it unclear how sick the president had become since testing positive for the coronavirus Thursday night.
Conley commented on the conflicting assessments Sunday.
“He was trying to reflect an optimistic attitude from the team and the president about the course of his illness,” Conley told reporters Sunday. “I didn’t want to give any information that could direct the course of the disease in another direction, and in doing so it turned out that we were trying to hide something, which is not necessarily true.”
THE ‘AGGRESSIVE’ CAMPAIGN CONTINUES
A Reuters / Ipsos poll released on Sunday found that Biden had opened a 10-point lead over Trump nationally, slightly wider than it has been for the past two months. About 65% of Americans said Trump likely would not have been infected if he had taken the virus more seriously, a view supported by half of registered Republicans surveyed. About 55% said they did not believe Trump had been telling the truth about the virus.
Supporters gather at a vigil for United States President Donald Trump outside the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he is being treated for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Bethesda, Maryland on 3 October 2020 (Photo: REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst). )
The Trump campaign promised that Vice President Mike Pence, who would assume the presidency if Trump could not fulfill his duties, would have an “aggressive” campaign program this week, as would Trump’s three oldest children.
“We can’t stay in our basement or shut down the economy indefinitely. We have to face it head-on,” Trump’s senior campaign adviser Jason Miller said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
Pence, who tested negative on Friday, will debate on Wednesday with Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
Biden, who largely avoided direct criticism of Trump during a campaign trip to Michigan on Friday, took a more aggressive tone Saturday while speaking to a union of transit workers, even as he wished the president the best.
LEE: What happens if a US presidential candidate leaves the race?
“I’m in a bit of a bind here, because I don’t want to attack the president and the first lady right now,” Biden said, adding that he hoped Trump and his wife, Melania, who also has the disease, make a full recovery.
But he was quick to address Trump’s response to the pandemic, calling it “inconceivable” and criticizing Trump’s comment in an interview this summer that “it is what it is” when asked about the death toll.
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