Confusion has erupted over Donald Trump‘s condition as he fights coronavirus after the president’s doctors said he is doing ‘very well’ while a White House source claimed his vitals are ‘very concerning’.
Trump’s personal physician Sean Conley offered an update on his condition outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on Saturday morning alongside several other members of the president’s medical team.
‘This morning, the president is doing very well. The team and I are extremely happy with the progress the president has made. He’s been fever-free for 24 hours and we are cautiously optimistic,‘ Conley said, adding that Trump has been working and walking in his hospital suite.
Conley’s depiction was far more optimistic than one put forward by a White House source familiar with the president’s health who spoke to Bloomberg Business pooler Cheryl Bolen on background immediately after the briefing ended.
‘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. We’re still not on a clear path to a full recovery,’ the source told Bolen, who passed that information along to the press pool.
The briefing raised more questions than answers as Conley declined to say what temperature the president had when he had a fever, whether he was on oxygen and when he last tested negative for COVID.
Conley told reporters the team was 72 hours into Trump’s diagnosis. But that would put the timeline at the president testing positive Wednesday morning. Trump tweeted shortly before 1 am on Friday he had tested positive. On Thursday he flew to his golf club in Bedminister, New Jersey, for a fundraiser with about 100 people.
‘Just 72 hours into the diagnosis now, the first week of COVID, in a particular day seven to day 10, are most critical in determining the likely course of this illness. At this time the team and I are extremely happy with the progress the president has made. Thursday he had a mild cough with nasal congestion and fatigue all of which are now resolving and improving,‘ Conley said.
Dr Shaun Dooley, a critical care physician, also spoke at the briefing and said Trump’s heart, liver, and kidney functions are being monitored and are currently in good condition.
‘He’s in exceptionally good spirits,’ Dooley said of the president. ‘In fact, as we were completing our multidisciplinary round this morning, the quote he left us with is “I feel like I could walk out of here today” and that was a very encouraging comment from the president.’
A source, believed to be Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, told a pool of reporters that Trump’s road to recovery is not ‘clear’. Multiple sources said that Trump was administered oxygen while at the White House on Friday before he checked into the hospital.
Trump is currently undergoing a range of treatments including a polyclonal antibody cocktail made by Regeneron that is not available to the public, remdesivir – an ebola drug that has already been shown to work against the virus – and vitamin D. He is also taking zinc, vitamin D, famotidine (the generic name for Pepcid AC), melatonin and daily aspirin.
The president took to Twitter shortly after the briefing ended, writing: ‘Doctors, Nurses and ALL at the GREAT Walter Reed Medical Center, and others from likewise incredible institutions who have joined them, are AMAZING!!! Tremendous progress has been made over the last 6 months in fighting this PLAGUE. With their help, I am feeling well!’