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President Donald Trump has been flown to Walter Reed Military Hospital for treatment after testing positive for coronavirus.
The president tweeted after his arrival: “Going well, I think!”
According to recent reports, his symptoms include a low-grade fever.
President Trump has so far been treated with an experimental drug cocktail injection and the antiviral medication remdesivir after both he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for Covid-19.
In exactly one month, President Trump faces Joe Biden in the presidential election.
His diagnosis has upended his campaign and also cast doubt on his attempt to get a new Supreme Court judge confirmed before polling day.
The latest update from President Trump’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, in a memorandum late on October 2, read: “I am happy to report the president is doing very well.”
He said the president was not in need of supplemental oxygen.
President Trump was taken to hospital “out of an abundance of caution” with “mild symptoms” and would be there for the “next few days”, the White House said.
The list of other people to have tested positive around the president include close aide Hope Hicks – believed to be the first to show symptoms – campaign manager Bill Stepien and former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway. Republican Senators Mike Lee and Thom Tillis have also tested positive.
President Donald Trump remains in charge. VP Mike Pence, to whom under the constitution the president would transfer power temporarily should he become too ill to carry out his duties, tested negative.
Wearing a mask and suit, President Trump walked out across the White House lawn on October 2 at 18:15 to his helicopter, Marine One, for the short flight to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center close to Washington DC.
He waved and gave a thumbs-up to reporters but said nothing before boarding the aircraft.
In an 18-second video posted to Twitter, President Trump said: “I think I’m doing very well. But we’re going to make sure that things work out. The first lady is doing very well. So thank you very much.”
Ivanka and Eric Trump re-tweeted his post, praising him as a “warrior”. Ivanka Trump added: “I love you dad.”
Donald Trump Jr. said his father was “obviously taking it very seriously”.
The president was admitted to the presidential suite at Walter Reed, which is where US presidents usually have their annual check-up.
Shortly before midnight, he tweeted again: “Going well, I think! Thank you to all. LOVE!!!”
Dr. Sean Conley, said the president was “not requiring any supplemental oxygen, but in consultation with specialists we have elected to initiate remdesivir therapy. He has completed his first dose and is resting comfortably”.
Tests have shown remdesivir, originally developed as an Ebola treatment, disrupts the new coronavirus’s ability to duplicate and can cut the duration of symptoms.
On October 2, Dr. Conley said President Trump had “as a precautionary measure received an 8g dose of Regeneron’s antibody cocktail” at the White House.
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