(PM) – U.S. President Donald Trump is “doing very well” after his first overnight stay at Walter Reed Medical Centre following a positive diagnosis for COVID-19 the day before, his personal physician said on Saturday.
“At this time the team and I are extremely happy with the progress the president has made,” White House doctor Sean Conley told reporters outside the military hospital in Maryland, adding he has been “fever free” for the past 24 hours.
Trump was moved to the military hospital on Friday after he was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus. Officials said at the time he was sent to the hospital out of an abundance of caution and he is expected to remain there for days.
Conley did not shed further light on Saturday as to why the president did not remain in the White House where officials on Friday said Trump would stay.
Overnight, Reuters reported he had a mild fever. Conley, the president’s physician, said Trump was being treated with the antiviral drug Remdesivir and did not require oxygen.
His wife Melania and several other top officials tested positive after coming in close contact with an aide who had contracted the virus Thursday.
Trump, 74, has long played-down the threat of the novel coronavirus that has killed over 200,000 Americans since February, when it reached U.S. shores from its source in Wuhan, China.
Should Trump need to hand off power, it would fall on Vice President Mike Pence to take over the leadership of the United States government. Pence and his wife tested negative for the virus, officials said Friday.
Trump is considered high-risk due to his age and weight.
