Updated: Q&A on Trump’s COVID-19 Diagnosis
Editor’s Note: We will continue to update this story as needed.
On Oct. 2, President Donald Trump revealed that he and First Lady Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19. Here we answer common questions about the risks of the disease, treatments available and the shortcomings of testing.
What do we know about Trump’s risk of developing serious COVID-19?
Without knowing all of Trump’s medical history, it is difficult to know how dangerous his SARS-CoV-2 infection might be. On the morning of Oct. 2, news outlets reported — and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows confirmed — that the president was experiencing only mild symptoms.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany reiterated the symptoms were “mild” in the afternoon, though Trump was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center and would be “working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days,” McEnany said.
On Oct. 3, a source familiar with the president’s health, who was later revealed to be Meadows, suggested that Trump’s condition was more serious. “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,” Meadows told a White House pool reporter in a pool report issued at about noon. “We’re still not on a clear path to a full recovery.”
The president’s doctor, Navy physician Sean P. Conley, gave a more upbeat assessment at a press conference Oct. 3, describing the president as being fever-free and “doing great.”
During a on Oct. 4, Trump’s physicians emphasized that he continued “to improve” but said that the president had been given the steroid dexamethasone, which unless patients require supplemental oxygen. Trump
