‘Don’t be afraid of Covid.’ !? !? // 'D'ont let it dominate your life' !? !?

 

Trump tweeted he will leave the hospital Monday evening, adding, ‘Don’t be afraid of Covid.’

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/10/05/world/covid-trump#trump-tweeted-he-will-leave-the-hospital-monday-evening-adding-dont-be-afraid-of-covid

 

President Trump tweeted Monday afternoon that he intended to leave Walter Reed Medical Center, where he has been receiving treatment since Friday. His medical team is expected to brief the public on his condition at 3 p.m. Eastern.

 Mr. Trump was eager to leave the hospital as soon as possible, as the drama around his treatment and the virus’s toll on the White House continued to mount. 

In the morning, the White House shuttled reporters to Walter Reed, where a briefing lectern had been placed, raising speculation about another update from Mr. Trump’s medical team. But the lectern remained covered with a garbage bag through lunchtime.

 Amid questions about whether Mr. Trump could relocate to the White House without endangering himself and others came a reminder that the virus may still be spreading through the West Wing and beyond: Mr. Trump’s press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, announced that she, too, had tested positive for the virus and would be isolating. Ms. McEnany, who said she had previously tested negative several times, spoke briefly to reporters outside the White House on Sunday. She did not wear a mask.

 

Two more members of the press team, Karoline Leavitt and Chad Gilmartin, who is Ms. McEnany’s relative, also tested positive but learned about their diagnosis prior to Ms. McEnany, according to two people familiar with the diagnosis.

 

Vice President Mike Pence was not quarantining, and was scheduled to travel to Utah ahead of Wednesday night’s vice-presidential debate. Afterward, Mr. Pence plans to attend campaign events in Arizona and Florida later this week before stopping in his home state of Indiana to vote early.

 

 Mr. Trump had pushed to be discharged earlier on Sunday, according to people familiar with the events, motivated to leave out of a desire to show the country and the world that he is functional and not bedridden by a virus.

 

But Mr. Trump’s doctors on Sunday did not favor him leaving the hospital to return to the White House. Instead, a decision was made to allow Mr. Trump to be driven slowly by crowds of supporters across the street from the hospital so he could be seen.

 

Health experts have said the decision was highly unusual for a patient with an infectious illness who is being treated with a therapeutic drug that is administered intravenously.

 

Based on his doctors’ accounts on Sunday, Mr. Trump’s symptoms appear to have rapidly progressed since he announced early Friday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus.

 

Mr. Trump had a “high fever” on Friday, and his blood oxygen levels dropped on two occasions, his doctors said, including to a level that can indicate that a patient’s lungs are compromised, a symptom seen in many patients with severe Covid-19.

 

His doctors said he is also undergoing a five-day antiviral treatment regimen for Covid-19 and that he had been prescribed dexamethasone, a steroid used to head off an immune system overreaction that kills many Covid-19 patients. This is also generally reserved for those with severe illness.