White House Doctor says Trump Could be Discharged Monday
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on coronavirus infections hitting President Donald Trump and others in his circle (all times EDT):
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President Donald Trump’s physician says he was trying to “reflect the upbeat attitude” of the president and his medical team when he declined to share Saturday that Trump was placed on oxygen the day before.
Navy Cmdr. Dr. Sean Conley was pressed Sunday on why his rosy picture of the president’s health was contradicted moments later by White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who expressed that the medical team was very concerned with the president’s health Friday morning when he experienced a drop in his blood oxygen levels and had a high fever.
Said Conley: “I was trying to reflect the upbeat attitude of the team, that the president, that his course of illness has had.”
He added that he “didn’t want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction. And in doing so, came off like we’re trying to hide something, which wasn’t necessarily true.”
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11:55 a.m.
President Donald Trump’s team of doctors says he is doing well after his COVID-19 diagnosis and could be discharged as early as Monday to continue his treatment.
Dr. Brian Garibaldi, a specialist in pulmonary critical care, said Trump received a second dose of the experimental drug remdesivir along with a first dose of dexamethasone Saturday and isn’t showing any side effects “that we can tell.”
He said Sunday that Trump is “up and well” and the plan was to have him “out of bed” Sunday as much as possible.
Garibaldi and Trump’s doctor, Dr. Sean Conley, said if things continue to go well, Trump will be able to return to the White House on Monday to continue his five-day course of remdesivir treatment and other appropriate therapy.
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11:50 a.m.
The president’s physician says President Donald Trump was treated with a steroid after a drop in oxygen levels on Saturday.
Dr. Sean Conley said at a news conference on Sunday that he was given the steroid dexamethasone while he was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Conley said the president’s oxygen level had dropped down to 93% on Saturday. He says the president did not feel short of breath.
He says the president’s medical team is hoping Trump will be up and about, out of bed and eating and drinking throughout the day.
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11:15 a.m.
President Donald Trump’s doctors are set to brief the public on his condition late Sunday morning after he spent a second night hospitalized with COVID-19.
Navy Cmdr. Dr. Sean Conley, the president’s physician, and the rest of his medical team are expected to provide an update on Trump’s treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The briefing is expected to begin at 11:30 am.
Saturday’s briefing featured mixed messages, as Conley painted a rosy picture of the president’s health, only to see White House chief of staff Mark Meadows later say officials were very concerned with the president’s condition before he was hospitalized.
A small group of Trump supporters gathered outside the hospital on Sunday, some waving large blue Trump flags and others holding smaller American flags and Trump-Pence reelection signs. The song “God Bless the U.S.A.” played in the background, occasionally interrupted by the supportive honking of a car horn, as the group waved the flags and paced back-and-forth outside the entrance to the military installation. A much larger group had gathered Saturday night cheering for the president.
BETHESDA, Md. (AP) 12:15 p.m. - A person familiar with President Donald Trump’s COVID-19 illness says some of his vital signs over the past 24 hours were “very concerning” but they've improved since he was admitted to a military hospital.
The person has knowledge of the president’s medical condition but was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.
It contradicted Trump’s doctors, who said during a press conference Saturday that the president was doing very well and felt as though he could walk out of a military hospital. They said he had not been on oxygen Saturday or when he was with their medical team Friday, and that his symptoms were subsiding.
Trump was admitted to Walter Reed Medical Center on Friday after saying he had contracted COVID-19. First lady Melania Trump also has fallen ill.
The person described the next 48 hours as critical and said there was no clear path yet on a recovery and that it could be days before he was discharged.
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12 p.m.
President Donald Trump’s doctors say the president is doing well, is fever-free and isn't having difficulty breathing after contracting the coronavirus.
Doctors said Saturday that Trump was not on supplemental oxygen, and while he had fatigue, nasal congestion and coughing, his symptoms are now resolving and improving.
Dr. Sean Conley, Trump’s physician, refused to say whether Trump had been on supplemental oxygen at any point during his illness, saying he was not on it Saturday or Thursday or Friday while he was with the medical team from Walter Reed Medical Center.
Trump was transferred to the military hospital on Friday afternoon in what doctors say was a precaution after he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19. He has not transferred powers.
Conley says the president has “a lot of work to do” and is doing it.
Doctors say the president told them: “I feel like I could walk out of here today.”
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10:50 a.m.
Three Republican congressmen from Minnesota are facing criticism for taking a commercial flight home from Washington just two days after they were on Air Force One with President Donald Trump.
Reps. Pete Stauber, Tom Emmer and Jim Hagedorn were on a Delta Air Lines flight Friday night despite its restrictions on passengers recently exposed to COVID-19. Trump announced early Friday that he had tested positive for the virus.
Delta’s policy says customers who know they were exposed to the virus in the past 14 days cannot travel. The airline defines exposure as face-to-face contact with someone with the virus or sustained contact for more than 15 minutes less than 6 feet (2 meters) apart.
State Democratic Party chairman Ken Martin said the three congressmen put the health and safety of other passengers at serious risk.
Hagedorn pushed back in a post on his campaign Facebook page Saturday, saying the three men had tested negative and had not been exposed to someone carrying the virus longer than 15 minutes and closer than 6 feet (2 meters). He said they also informed the airline and the flight’s captain of their situation and Delta “made the decision to fly based upon the facts.”
Delta spokeswoman Gina Laughlin told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that the flight was less than 40% full and that no one left the plane before it took off to protest the men’s presence.
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10:20 a.m.
The White House says President Donald Trump’s doctor will provide an update on his condition Saturday morning as the president undergoes treatment for COVID-19 symptoms at a military hospital.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany says Navy Commander Dr. Sean Conley will address reporters at 11 a.m. from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
In a late Friday letter, Conley reported that Trump had been treated at the hospital with remdesivir, an antiviral medication, after taking another experimental drug at the White House. He added that Trump is “doing very well” and is “not requiring any supplemental oxygen.”
The White House said Trump was expected to stay at the hospital for “a few days” out of an abundance of caution and that he would continue to work from the hospital’s presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to keep up his official duties.
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10 a.m.
Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson says he’s tested positive for the coronavirus.
Johnson’s office announced the diagnosis in a statement Saturday. He’s the third Republican senator to report a positive test this week, following Utah Sen. Mike Lee and North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis. Johnson's announcement is adding to the swirl of tension in Washington since President Donald Trump announced his positive test Friday.
Johnson, a second-term Republican, had reported exposure last month to someone who tested positive for COVID-19, and quarantined for 14 days without developing symptoms. Johnson said he tested negative twice during that time.
He returned to Washington on Sept. 29 and said he was exposed soon after that to someone who tested positive. Johnson says he was tested Friday afternoon after learning of the exposure, and it came back positive.
Johnson said he feels healthy and doesn’t have symptoms, but will isolate until cleared by his doctor.
(Story written By ZEKE MILLER, JILL COLVIN and JONATHAN LEMIRE/AP)