White House press pool reporters were taken to Walter Reed Military Medical Center on Sunday morning for another update on President Donald Trump‘s condition. The president is still hospitalized during his treatment for COVID-19, but may not stay there much longer. Trump’s doctors were still hopeful about his situation on Sunday, saying that he could be discharged “as early as” Monday.
Trump’s doctors were a bit more detailed in Sunday’s press conference than they were on Saturday morning. The team discussed specific tests conducted on Trump and gave numerical results โ for example, they explained that his oxygen saturation has stayed above 94 percent, for the most part. They were a bit more specific about his symptoms and the concerning signs about his condition as well. White House physician Dr. Sean Conley described Trump’s fever, two instances when his oxygen saturation dipped low and the fatigue he suffered. Finally, one of Conley’s colleagues revealed their hope that Trump could be discharged “as early as tomorrow,” if he continues on this track.
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There were still questions from the press corps that Conley and his colleagues declined to answer, including some about Trump’s lung scans, the potential of contracting pneumonia from COVID-19 and the details of the president’s hospital room. However, Conley did respond to the confusion and outrage he stirred up on Saturday morning by refusing to answer certain questions. Most prominently, Conley would not say whether Trump had been on supplemental oxygen at all in the course of his treatment. He apologized for this omission.
“That’s a good question,” Conley said. “So, I was trying to reflect the upbeat attitude that the team โ and the president, throughout his course of illness โ has had. I didn’t want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction. And in doing so, you know, it came off that we were trying to hide something, which wasn’t true. So, here you have it. The fact of the matter is that he’s doing really well.”
Trump was diagnosed with the novel coronavirus earlier this week, and was hospitalized on Friday evening. Questions about his condition have persisted ever since, though his doctors have maintained an optimistic outlook. Outside reports โ mostly stemming from anonymous White House sources โ indicate that Trump was given supplemental oxygen therapy, experienced extreme fatigue and other symptoms of COVID-19. His doctors have avoided specific questions about these reports in their updates so far.
Trump is considered a high-risk patient for COVID-19 due to his advanced age, his weight and other pre-existing medical conditions. He may also be responsible for several other infections in his inner circle, including former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who is similarly vulnerable. Christie was hospitalized on Saturday shortly after revealing that he was ill.