Donald Trump is doing “very well” in his hospital treatment for Covid-19, his medics said Saturday, but a source with knowledge of the US president’s condition said his vital signs had been worrying, with the next 48 hours critical.
Trump is up and walking, has been fever free for 24 hours and his cough, nasal congestion and fatigue are improving, physician Sean Conley said during the first medical update on his status since the president was admitted to Walter Reed military medical center Friday.
Trump is not receiving extra oxygen, he added, and is “doing very well.”
“We have monitored his cardiac function, his kidney function, liver function. All of those are normal,” another member of the medical team, Sean Dooley said.
But a source familiar with the president’s health gave a much more worrying assessment.
“The president’s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care,” the source said. “We’re still not on a clear path to a full recovery.”
The White House has not commented on the assessment.
Conley was evasive when asked whether Trump had received supplementary oxygen at any point since falling ill, only confirming that he hadn’t received any at the hospital or on Thursday — the day he had his test.
This leaves the possibility that he was on oxygen at the White House on Friday before being admitted to Walter Reed, and there were reports in US media, unconfirmed by AFP, that this was the case.
Soon after Trump arrived at hospital, Conley said in a memo that the president was starting a course of therapeutic drug remdesivir and had received an eight-gram dose of an experimental polyclonal antibody cocktail.
Conley would not put a “hard date” on Trump’s discharge from hospital or disclose the president’s temperature.
Amid the rosy assessment from the White House, more people close to the president disclosed they have tested positive for the coronavirus.
The latest is campaign advisor Chris Christie, who was among several aides that helped Trump prepare for the first presidential debate that have since announced positive tests.
Three senators as well as Trump’s campaign manager and other senior aides are among a growing list from the president’s orbit to have contracted the virus, with at least seven confirmed cases tied to an event in the White House Rose Garden last weekend.
- AFP
