US President Donald Trump last night appeared to be recovering from Covid-19 as a growing number of his inner circle tested positive for the virus.
Mr Trump’s doctor has said he was doing “very well” as he spent the weekend at a military hospital for treatment of Covid-19.
Navy Commander Dr Sean Conley said Mr Trump had been fever-free for 24 hours and was not currently on oxygen, though he repeatedly refused to say whether the President had ever been on oxygen. He said Mr Trump’s symptoms, including a cough and nasal congestion, “are now resolving and improving”.
The White House said Mr Trump was expected to stay at the hospital for “a few days” and he would continue to work from the hospital’s presidential suite at the Walter Reed National Medical Centre in Bethesda, Maryland.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 3, 2020
Mr Trump spent months playing down the threat of the virus, which has now killed more than 200,000 Americans and has spread to his inner circle. First Lady Melania Trump was diagnosed with Covid on Friday, but was reported to be “doing well”.
Her chief of staff Stephanie Grisham said: “Mrs Trump is doing well. Her symptoms have not worsened and she continues to rest.”
Former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who helped Mr Trump prepare for last week’s presidential debate, announced yesterday morning he had tested positive for Covid-19.
He wrote in a message on Twitter: “I just received word that I am positive for Covid-19. I will be receiving medical attention today and will keep the necessary folks appraised of my condition.”
© Shutterstock FeedMr Christie was one of several advisers who helped Mr Trump prepare for the first presidential debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden.
He also attended a White House event on Saturday last week for Mr Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Judge Amy Coney Barrett. Mr Trump gathered more than 150 people in the Rose Garden, where people mingled, hugged and shook hands, mostly without wearing masks.
Among those who attended who have now tested positive are former White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway and Republican senators Mike Lee and Thom Tillis.
Bill Stepien, Mr Trump’s campaign manager, has also tested positive.
Mr Trump announced his diagnosis in a tweet in the early hours of Friday, following a positive test from one of his closest aides, Hope Hicks. The remainder of the first family, including son Barron, who lives at the White House, tested negative.
The President’s re-election campaign said all events featuring Mr Trump and his family would either be postponed or go online, but Vice-president Mike Pence, who had tested negative, would resume campaigning.
Mr Trump tweeted last night that he was “feeling well” with the help of medics. He added that “tremendous progress” had been made in fighting the virus.
Could a quick return boost Trump’s re-election hopes?
How well Donald Trump recovers from Covid-19 could have a significant impact on the outcome of the race to the White House, according to political experts.
Media consultant Joe Brettell said a quick return to the campaign trail could boost support for President Trump among voters.
Mr Brettell said: “If he’s able to overcome this in a relatively short amount of time, then it only bolsters the image – Covid may have taken down 200,000 Americans but it wasn’t strong enough to take down Donald J. Trump.”
Democratic strategist Mike Mikus said his illness highlighted a mishandling of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said: “One thing that people look for in a president is somebody who is not going to be careless, who is not going to be reckless, who is going to listen to experts.”
Professor: Trump medics gambling on new ebola drug
Doctors treating Donald Trump have gambled on an experimental new drug in the hope of avoiding him suffering the second-week crash experienced by many coronavirus patients, according to a leading clinician.
The US President was admitted to a military hospital after testing positive for Covid-19 and is receiving the drug Remdesivir.
Mr Trump is at higher risk of dying of coronavirus or developing serious complications as he is 74, male and obese, experts said.
Yesterday Dr Sean Conley, Mr Trump’s personal medic, said he was receiving Remdesivir.
Naveed Sattar, a professor of metabolic medicine at Glasgow University, warned that Mr Trump had not yet reached the critical 10-day point, so his prognosis was still unclear.
He said doctors would focus on trying to prevent this, as patients can suffer a rapid deterioration. “My sense is they’re trying to change the trajectory,” he said. “They’re giving him things that might try to lessen the chances of him going in the wrong direction.”
Professor Sattar said the president was likely to have been admitted as a precaution and his symptoms were probably not as severe as members of the public who needed hospital treatment.
Mr Trump is not known to have any underlying conditions, but ordinarily a man of his age and weight admitted with Covid might face a mortality rate as high as one in 10.
The professor added: “I think his BMI is in the obese category and it does put him at high risk. I would say maybe as much as one in 10 but that’s people who are admitted with symptoms normally.
“I think what’s happened here is he has been admitted at a much lower threshold.”
The drug Remdesivir was developed in 2009 and has been used to treat ebola but has not been subjected to extensive clinical trials to establish whether patients may suffer side effects.
The only research on its effectiveness against Covid-19 was a small Chinese study, published in the Lancet, which did not prove conclusive.
Professor Sattar said Mr Trump’s doctors will be hoping it speeds up his recovery and added: “I think it’s a punt, it’s a speculative punt that they’ve taken.”
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