Trump will travel to military hospital after Covid-19 diagnosis
2 October 2020, 23:44
The White House said President Trump remains ‘fatigued’.
President Donald Trump will spend a “few days” at a military hospital after contracting Covid-19, the White House said.
The president is to depart from the White House by helicopter later on Friday for Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre, a White House official said.
An update from President @realDonaldTrump 's physician: pic.twitter.com/cTsXO4Df6b
— Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) October 2, 2020
The official said the visit was precautionary and that President Trump would work from the hospital’s presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to continue his official duties.
“President Trump remains in good spirts, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day,” said press secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
“Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the president will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days.”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020
Earlier on Friday, the White House said President Trump had been injected with an experimental antibody cocktail by the White House physician.
Just a month before the election, President Trump’s revelation that he was positive for the virus came by tweet at about 1am after he had returned from an afternoon political fundraiser.
He had gone ahead, saying nothing to the crowd though knowing he had been exposed to an aide with the disease that has infected millions in America and killed more than a million people worldwide.
First lady Melania Trump also tested positive, the president said, and several others in the White House have, too, prompting concern that the White House or even President Trump himself might have spread the virus further.
President Trump has spent much of the year downplaying the threat of the virus, rarely wearing a protective mask and urging states and cities to “reopen” and reduce or eliminate shutdown rules.
The president’s physician said in a memo late Friday that he received a dose of an experimental antibody cocktail by Regeneron that is in clinical trials.
Navy Commander Dr Sean Conley said President Trump “remains fatigued but in good spirits” and that a team of experts was evaluating both the president and first lady in regard to next steps.
The first lady, who is 50, has a “mild cough and headache,” Dr Conley reported, and the remainder of the first family, including the Trumps’ son Barron, who lives at the White House, tested negative.
Both Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and his running mate Kamala Harris have tested negative, their campaign said.
Vice President Mike Pence tested negative for the virus on Friday morning and “remains in good health,” his spokesman said.
