- White House physician Sean Conley on Wednesday said President Donald Trump has been COVID-19 symptom-free for 24 hours.
- Conley also said the president had detectable levels of antibodies.
- Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19 late last week, and spent the weekend in the hospital.
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White House physician Sean Conley in a memorandum on Wednesday said President Donald Trump has not shown any symptoms of COVID-19 for 24 hours.
“I feel great!” Trump said this morning, according to Conley.
“He’s now been fever-free for more than 4 days, symptom-free for over 24 hours, and has not needed nor received any supplemental oxygen since initial hospitalization,” Conley said of the president.
The doctor’s memo also noted that the president had detectable levels of antibodies, which are proteins the body creates to fight off the virus.
Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Thursday — six days ago. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it typically takes one to three weeks after infection for your body to make antibodies. It’s unclear why Trump would exhibit antibodies at this point, but it could be linked an experimental antibody cocktail he was administered.
The president was transferred to Walter Reed Medical Center on Friday as his conditioned worsened, and spent the weekend in the hospital. Beyond the antibody cocktail, the president was administered supplemental oxygen and a steroid generally used for severe cases of the virus.
Trump left the hospital on Monday and simultaneously downplayed the threat of COVID-19, despite the fact he received treatments largely unavailable to most Americans. The president has consistently diminished the dangers of COVID-19, which experts say contributed to the US outbreak spiraling out of control.
More than a dozen people in Trump’s orbit have also tested positive for COVID-19, including a number of his top aides and First Lady Melania Trump.
Prior to contracting the virus, Trump routinely flouted public health recommendations such as wearing a mask or face-covering.
Less than a week before he was diagnosed, Trump held what was seemingly a super-spreader event at the White House to announce his Supreme Court nominee. Attendees did not social distance and could be seen without masks. Top public health experts have repeatedly said that wearing a mask or face covering is the strongest tool available in thwarting the virus.
Recent polling has shown that majority of Americans say Trump didn’t do enough to avoid getting COVID-19 and has acted irresponsibly in handling the risk of coronavirus infection to people near him.
Trump is pushing to be permitted to work from the Oval Office again, despite isolation rules. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Wednesday said they would implement protocols to ensure it was safe.
“If he decides to go to the Oval, we’ve got safety protocols there that are not only from the PPE standpoint, but from a ventilation standpoint, in the open where we can actually work to that end as well,” Meadows said to reporters, per ABC News.
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