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US President Donald Trump spent his first night in a military hospital where he receives treatment after testing positive for coronavirus.
“It’s going well, I think!” Trump tweeted on Friday night. The US media said his symptoms included a mild fever.
So far he has been treated with an experimental drug cocktail injection and the antiviral drug remdesivir.
In exactly one month, Trump faces Joe Biden in the presidential election.
The president’s diagnosis has upset his campaign and has also cast doubt on his attempt to secure confirmation from a new Supreme Court justice before Election Day.
The latest update from Trump’s doctor, Sean Conley, in a memo Friday night, read: “I am pleased to report that the president is doing very well.” He said the president did not need supplemental oxygen.
The 74-year-old president is a man and someone classified as obese is in a higher risk category for Covid-19. The White House said he was airlifted to the hospital “as a precaution” and would be there for “the next few days.”
First Lady Melania Trump, who also tested positive for Covid-19, had a “mild cough and headache,” Dr. Conley said.
The list of other people who tested positive for Trump includes his close aide Hope Hicks, who is believed to be the first to show symptoms, campaign manager Bill Stepien and former White House adviser Kellyanne Conway. Republican Senators Mike Lee and Thom Tillis also tested positive.
Trump is still in charge. Vice President Mike Pence, to whom under the constitution the president would transfer power temporarily if he became too ill to perform his duties, tested negative.
- What if Trump gets too sick to be president?
What did the president look like on Friday?
Wearing a mask and suit, Trump crossed the White House lawn at 18:15 (22:15 GMT) on Friday to his helicopter, Marine One, for the short flight to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center near Washington DC .
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Reuters
Donald Trump arrives at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center
He waved and raised his thumb to reporters, but said nothing before boarding the plane.
In an 18-second video posted on Twitter, Trump said: “I think I’m doing very well. But we will make sure things work out. The first lady is doing very well. So thank you very much.”
- What is the risk to Donald Trump’s health?
- Who did you meet and who tested positive
The president’s sons, Ivanka and Eric, retweeted his post, praising him as a “warrior.” Trump added: “I love you dad.”
Donald Jr. said his father “was obviously taking it very seriously.”
Trump was admitted to the presidential suite at Walter Reed, which is where US presidents usually have their annual check-up.
Shortly before midnight, he tweeted again: “It’s going well, I think! Thank you all. LOVE !!!”
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who spent time in intensive care with the virus in April, said he had no doubt that Trump would have a “very strong recovery.”
What treatment has the president received?
Dr. Conley said the President “did not need supplemental oxygen, but in consultation with specialists we have chosen to start remdesivir therapy. You have completed your first dose and are resting comfortably.”
Tests have shown that remdesivir, originally developed as an Ebola treatment, disrupts the virus’s ability to duplicate itself and can reduce the duration of symptoms.
- How Remdesivir Benefits Were Found
Earlier on Friday, Dr. Conley said the president had received “as a precautionary measure an 8-g dose of Regeneron’s antibody cocktail” at the White House.
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The antibodies stick to the coronavirus, protect the cells of the body, and make the virus more visible to the immune system.
However, the treatment is still experimental and has not yet been approved by regulators. Although there is much hope behind it, some doctors have expressed surprise at its use in the president at this stage.
- Read more about Regeneron and antibodies
Trump was also taking zinc, vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin, and aspirin, Dr. Conley said.
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On Friday afternoon, the first lady, who is 50, said she was experiencing mild symptoms but was “feeling fine” and “was looking forward to a speedy recovery.”
The rest of the Trump family, including the first couple’s son Barron, who also lives in the White House, tested negative.
Covid cluster at the heart of government
Analysis by Peter Bowes, BBC North America correspondent
This is a crisis that escalates by the hour.
With the news that another member of Trump’s inner circle, Kellyanne Conway, has tested positive, along with two Republican senators, there is a growing understanding that a Covid group has penetrated the heart of the United States government.
Like Ms. Conway, Senators Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina attended the White House event where the President announced his nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, said it would be “irresponsible and dangerous” to go ahead with Amy Coney Barrett’s confirmation hearings.
It would be another major blow to the president if the proceedings were delayed, although Senate Leader Mitch McConnell has said they will continue the expanded use of remote hearings.
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Reuters
At least seven people who were at the White House event for Amy Coney Barrett reportedly tested positive
How have the Democrats reacted?
Biden, the Democratic nominee, and his wife Jill tested negative on Friday. The Bidens wished the presidential couple a speedy recovery.
The Democratic campaign is temporarily removing all its negative ads about Trump.
Biden, on Friday’s election campaign in Grand Rapids, Michigan, added: “It is an invigorating reminder to all of us that we must take this virus seriously. It does not go away automatically.”
- What Older Voters Say About The Trump Covid Story
Since the start of the pandemic, Democrats have criticized the president for disobeying basic health guidelines, such as social distancing and wearing a face covering in public, including those promoted by his own administration.
Trump has also continued to hold large campaign rallies, gathering thousands of supporters, often without masks.
The Republican president also mocked Biden during his live television debate Tuesday, saying, “I don’t wear masks like him. Every time you see him, he has a mask.”
The most powerful Democrat-elect, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi, said her prayers for Trump had “intensified” and she hoped her diagnosis would be “a learning experience” for the country.
The United States has had more Covid-19 cases (7.3 million) and more deaths (208,000) than any other country, according to research from Johns Hopkins University.
What about others who have tested positive?
Campaign Manager Bill Stepien has “mild flu-like symptoms” and Kellyanne Conway also has “mild symptoms.”
Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, who was with Trump a week ago, tested positive, as did the Reverend John Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame, who visited the White House last weekend for the announcement. of the Supreme Court.
There has been criticism of the president’s decision to attend a fundraising event attended by dozens of people in New Jersey on Thursday, apparently when officials were already aware of Hope Hicks’ symptoms.
Authorities said the process of following up on all of Trump’s contacts in recent days was ongoing.
