Trump could be discharged from hospital Monday if improvement continues, doctor says
President Donald Trump could be discharged from the hospital as early as Monday if his condition continues to improve, his medical team said Sunday.
The president was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center with COVID-19 on Friday.
Doctors said Sunday that Trump continues to improve, but the Monday discharge appeared to be a best-case scenario.
“If he continues to look and feel as well as he does today, our hope is that we can plan for a discharge as early as tomorrow to the White House, where he can continue his treatment course,” said Dr. Brian Garibaldi, director of the biocontainment unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and a member of the president’s medical team.
Trump’s blood oxygen level has dropped twice in two days, he has received supplemental oxygen at least once and he is being treated with steroids, his doctors said for the first time Sunday. In addition, Trump has received two experimental drug therapies during his illness, including one that takes five days to complete. His second dose was Saturday.
He has not had a fever since Friday morning, his physician Dr. Sean Conley said.
Trump was given dexamethasone on Saturday in response to the oxygen drops, Conley said. The drug is a “corticosteroid used in a wide range of conditions for its anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressant effects,” according to the World Health Organization.
Earlier reports suggested Trump might remain at Walter Reed hospital several more days. As late as Saturday night, Conley said the president “was not yet out of the woods.”
Speaking earlier Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” National Security Adviser Robert O’Brien said Trump was eager to return to work but, “I think he’s going to stay at Walter Reed for at least another period of time.”
The Sunday briefing follows a confusing day of conflicting information about the president’s health.
Conley said Saturday morning that the president was “doing very well.” But his optimistic news conference was contradicted shortly after by White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
Meadows told reporters Saturday the president is “still not on a clear path to a full recovery.”
“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,” Meadows said.
Conley also declined to say Saturday whether Trump had received supplemental oxygen, McClatchy News reported. It was later reported Trump received oxygen at the White House on Friday before he departed for Walter Reed hospital.
“I was trying to reflect the upbeat attitude that the team, the president through his course of illness has had,” Conley said Sunday when asked why he hadn’t previously disclosed that Trump was given supplemental oxygen. “I didn’t want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction and in doing so came off that we were trying to hide something, which isn’t necessarily true.”
Asked Sunday if Trump had also required additional oxygen Saturday, Conley said he would have to check with the president’s nursing staff.
Conley on Sunday again declined to provide details about Trump’s condition, including whether lung scans show signs of pneumonia or other complications.
Confusion has surrounded the timeline of Trump’s diagnosis. His administration has said Trump tested positive Thursday night. But Conley said Saturday morning the president was “72 hours into the diagnosis,” meaning he would have tested positive Wednesday.
Conley later clarified his statement, reiterating the president tested positive Thursday.
Among those in Trump’s inner circle who have tested positive for COVID-19 are first lady Melania Trump, campaign manager Bill Stepien, aide Hope Hicks, personal assistant Nicholas Luna, former counselor Kellyanne Conway, advisor Chris Christie, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, and GOP Sens. Thom Tillis, Ron Johnson and Mike Lee.
Trump tweeted Sunday afternoon that he appreciates “the fans and supporters outside of the hospital.”
“The fact is, they really love our Country and are seeing how we are MAKING IT GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE,” he tweeted just before 4 p.m. Eastern time Sunday.
At 5:16 p.m. Sunday, Trump posted a video to Twitter praising his doctors and nurses at Walter Reed hospital and seeming to suggest he intended to visit supporters who had gathered outside the hospital.
He was seen on another video traveling in a presidential motorcade at about the same time as he waved at supporters gathered outside the hospital.
“President Trump took a short last-minute motorcade ride to wave to his supporters outside and has now returned to the Presidential Suite inside Walter Reed,” a statement from the White House said, according to ABC News.
This story was originally published October 4, 2020 at 12:23 PM with the headline "Trump could be discharged from hospital Monday if improvement continues, doctor says."
