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President Donald Trump will stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for a “few days,” according to White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, “out of an abundance of caution.” He traveled to the facility Friday afternoon, less than 24 hours after he tested positive for the coronavirus.
“President Trump remains in good spirits, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day,” McEnany said in a statement on Friday. “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. President Trump appreciates the outpouring of support for both he and the First Lady.”
Trump has suffered “mild symptoms” from the virus since Friday morning, including a low-grade fever, cough, and nasal congestion, according to multiple outlets and White House officials. However, a White House official told me he was not bedridden and continued to work throughout the day.
Shortly before the announcement that the president was heading to Walter Reed, his physician, Sean Conley, issued a memo outlining how they were treating Trump.
The physician said Trump had received “a single 8 gram dose of Regeneron’s polyclonal antibody cocktail” along with “zinc, vitamin D, melatonin and a daily aspirin,” and he “completed the infusion without incident.”
“As of this afternoon the President remains fatigued but in good spirits,” the statement read.
An update from President @realDonaldTrump's physician: pic.twitter.com/cTsXO4Df6b
— Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) October 2, 2020
Conley followed that statement with another late Friday that Trump “is doing very well,” that the president hasn’t needed any oxygen, but that he had started a course of the antiviral drug remdesivir, which has been shown to improve outcomes in some studies.
Trump is an older, obese man, which means he’s at higher risk of greater complications due to the coronavirus. Getting him out of the White House, away from staff and others in the building who also contracted the disease, is thus the sensible move.
However, just because the president will reside at Walter Reed — a military hospital in Bethesda, Maryland — for a while doesn’t necessarily mean Trump will be out of commission. There’s an executive suite at the facility, with a residence and office space, for Trump to use while he stays there.
So despite his condition and the new location, Trump will remain in charge of the country, White House officials say.
As he landed, the president’s Twitter account put out a video message where he said “I think I’m doing very well.”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020
And Friday night, Trump followed that tweet with another positive message, writing on Twitter, “Going welI, I think! Thank you to all. LOVE!!!”
