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US President Donald Trump, who is being treated for Covid-19 in a military hospital outside Washington, speaks from his hospital room. Photo: Reuters

Donald Trump releases video from hospital as he faces critical 48 hours in coronavirus fight

  • US president said the next few days would be the ‘real test’ of his resilience as he battles Covid-19
  • New questions emerge about timing, severity of Trump’s coronavirus infection
Agencies

US President Donald Trump went through a “very concerning” period Friday and faces a “critical” next two days in his fight against Covid-19 at a military hospital, his chief of staff said Saturday – in contrast to a rosier assessment moments earlier by Trump doctors, who took pains not to reveal the president had received supplemental oxygen at the White House before his hospital admission.

Trump himself offered an upbeat assessment Saturday evening in a four-minute video from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. While sounding subdued, the president said he was beginning to feel better and hoped to “be back soon”.

Trump was dressed in a suit without a tie and was seated as he recorded the message. He sounded slightly congested and short of breath.

“I’m starting to feel good,” he said in the video apparently filmed from his medical suite.

“You don’t know over the next period of a few days, I guess that’s the real test, so we’ll be seeing what happens over those next couple of days.”

Hours earlier, Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters outside the hospital: “We’re still not on a clear path yet to a full recovery”.

The changing, and at times contradictory accounts, created a credibility crisis for the White House at a crucial moment, with the president’s health and the nation’s leadership on the line. With Trump expected to remain hospitalised several more days and the presidential election looming, his condition is being anxiously watched by Americans.

Moreover, the president’s health represents a national security issue of paramount importance not only to the functions of the US government but to countries around the world, friendly and otherwise.

Saturday’s briefing by US Navy Commander Dr Sean Conley and other doctors raised more questions than it answered. Conley repeatedly refused to say whether the president ever needed supplemental oxygen, despite repeated questioning, and declined to share key details including how high a fever Trump had been running before it came back down to a normal range. Conley also revealed that Trump had begun exhibiting “clinical indications” of Covid-19 on Thursday afternoon, earlier than previously known.

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Conley spent much of the briefing dodging reporters’ questions, as he was pressed for details.

“Thursday no oxygen. None at this moment. And yesterday with the team, while we were all here, he was not on oxygen,” Conley said.

But according to a person familiar with Trump’s condition, Trump was administered oxygen at the White House on Friday morning, well before he was transported to the military hospital by helicopter that evening.

US Navy Commander Dr Sean Conley talks about US President Donald Trump's health at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Photo: Reuters

Conley said that Trump’s symptoms, including a mild cough, nasal congestion and fatigue “are now resolving and improving”, and said the president had been fever-free for 24 hours. But Trump also was taking aspirin, which lowers body temperature and could mask or mitigate that symptom.

“He’s in exceptionally good spirits,” said another doctor, Sean Dooley, who said Trump’s heart, kidney, and liver functions were normal and that he was not having trouble breathing or walking around.

In the hospital video, Trump defended his decision to continue campaigning and holding large events in the midst of a pandemic.

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“I had no choice,” said Trump, who refused to abide by basic public health recommendations, including mask-wearing “I had to be out front … I can’t be locked up in a room upstairs and totally safe. … As a leader, you have to confront problems.”

Trump also thanked his medical team and hailed the state-of-the-art treatments he was receiving, comparing them to “miracles coming down from God”, Trump’s medical care is far superior to the average American, with around-the-clock care and experimental treatments.

Trump is 74 years old and clinically obese, putting him at higher risk of serious complications from a virus that has infected more than 7 million people nationwide and killed more than 200,000 people in the US.

Meadows himself had insisted Friday morning that Trump had only “mild symptoms” as the White House tried to project an image of normalcy. It was unclear whether Trump already had received oxygen when Meadows spoke.

Trump’s administration has been less than transparent with the public throughout the pandemic, both about the president’s health and the virus’ spread inside the White House. The first word that a close aide to Trump had been infected came from the media, not the White House. And aides have repeatedly declined to share basic health information, including a full accounting of the president’s symptoms, what tests he’s undertaken and the results.

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In a memo released late Friday, Conley did report that Trump had been treated at the hospital with remdesivir, an antiviral medication, after sharing that he’d taking another experimental drug at the White House.

On Saturday, Conley said Trump’s blood oxygen level was 96 per cent, which is in the normal range. The two experimental drugs he has received, given through an IV, have shown some promise against Covid-19. On Friday, he was given a single dose of a drug Regeneron Pharmaceuticals was testing to supply antibodies to help his immune system fight the virus.

White House chief of staff Mark Meadows (R) watches as US President Donald Trump walks off Marine One while arriving at Walter Reed Medical Center. Photo: AFP

Friday night, he began a five-day course of remdesivir, a Gilead Sciences drug currently used for moderately and severely ill patients. The drugs work in different ways – the antibodies help the immune system rid the body of virus and remdesivir curbs the virus’ ability to multiply.

“We’re maximising all aspects of his care,” attacking the virus in multiple ways, Conley said. “I didn’t want to hold anything back if there was any possibility it would add value to his care.”

He noted that in many cases, Covid-19 can become more dangerous as the body responds. “The first week of Covid, and in particular day seven to 10, are the most critical in determining the likely course of this illness,” he said.

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At the same time, the White House has been working to trace a flurry of new infections of close Trump aides and allies. Attention is focused in particular on last Saturday’s White House event introducing Trump’s Supreme Court nominee. That day, Trump gathered more than 150 people in the Rose Garden, where they mingled, hugged and shook hands – overwhelmingly without masks. There were also several indoor receptions, where Trump’s Supreme Court pick, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, her family, senators and others spent time in the close quarters of the White House, photographs show.

03:30

World leaders wish Trump and Melania speedy recovery from Covid-19

World leaders wish Trump and Melania speedy recovery from Covid-19

Among those who attended and have now tested positive: former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway, the president of the University of Notre Dame, and at least two Republican lawmakers – Utah Senator Mike Lee and North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis. The president’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien, and the head of the Republican National Committee, Ronna McDaniel, have also tested positive, though they were not at the event.

Vice-President Mike Pence is currently off the campaign trail preparing for the coming week’s vice-presidential debate.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who was himself hospitalised with Covid-19 in April, told reporters on Saturday he had no doubt Trump would make a strong recovery.

“He’s a naturally obviously very resilient character and I’m sure he’ll come through it very well,” Johnson said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping sent a message to Trump and his wife on Saturday, wishing them a speedy recovery, Chinese state TV said.

Associated Press, DPA and Reuters

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