“The President was first diagnosed with COVID-19 on the evening of Thursday, October 1st and had received Regeneron’s antibody cocktail on Friday, October 2nd,” Conley then clarified in a memo.
Doctors briefing the press also painted a much rosier picture of the president’s health than the report from a White House official that the last 24 hours were “concerning.”
Conley said that the president’s mild cough and fatigue are improving, that he has not had trouble breathing, and that he has not had a fever for 24 hours.
The president said that he chose to go to Walter Reed rather than be isolated in his room at the White House, without meeting with other people or using the Oval Office. “I was given that alternative,” he said.
He added, “We have to confront problems.”
Trump said that first lady Melania Trump is “doing very well.” He made a reference to her age — “as you’ve probably read, she’s slightly younger than me, just a little tiny bit” — and how younger people have generally fared better with the coronavirus than older people. Melania Trump is 50; the president is 74.
“I think we’re gonna have a very good result. Again, over the next few days, we’re gonna probably know for sure,” Trump said.
Trump is not currently on supplemental oxygen, though Conley would not confirm whether he had needed it earlier.
Conley said that days seven to 10 into the illness are critical and that the president’s condition at that time will give the medical team a better sense of the course of the illness. He will continue a five-day course of remdesivir treatment.
On Friday, the White House said Trump would stay at Walter Reed for a few days, and it posted a video on Twitter of the president in the White House Diplomatic Room, thanking supporters for their well wishes.
Asked why the decision was made to transfer Trump to Walter Reed, Conley said, “Because he’s the president of the United States.”
Friday night, Conley released a letter saying Trump is “doing very well” and has started remdesivir therapy. “He has completed his first dose and is resting comfortably,” Conley wrote.