Presidential physician Dr. Sean Conley released an update on President Donald Trump’s coronavirus prognosis on Thursday, stating that he has “remained stable and devoid of any indications to suggest progression of illness.”
Trump was diagnosed with the coronavirus late Thursday night, just hours after traveling to New Jersey for a fundraiser. The following day, Trump was admitted to Walter Reed Medical Center as he was given an experimental antibody treatment, steroids, and other remedies to fight off the coronavirus.
By Monday, Conley and Trump’s medical team signed off on releasing him to the White House.
Conley said on Thursday he expects Trump to be able to resume public engagements on Saturday.
“Since returning home, his physical exam remained stable and devoid of any indications to suggest progression of illness,” Conley wrote in a report. “Overall, he’s responded extremely well to treatment, without evidence on examination of adverse therapeutic effects. Saturday will be day 10 since Thursday’s diagnosis, and based on the trajectory of advanced diagnostics the team has been conducting, I fully anticipate the president’s safe return to public engagements at that time.”
The CDC has a recommended minimum isolation period of 10 days for coronavirus patients, although the isolation period may take as long as 20 days depending on the severeness of the illness.
While Trump has not left the White House complex since returning home on Monday, he left the residence portion of the facility on Wednesday and Thursday, working out of the Oval Office among a small group of advisers.
The White House has been dealing with a cluster of coronavirus cases, now confirmed to be in the dozens, affecting aides, assistants, visitors and journalists in the White House. On Thursday, the White House Correspondents Association announced its fourth White House journalist has tested positive for the virus in the last week.
Key aides, including Hope Hicks, Stephen Miller and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, continue to recover from the virus.
Trump’s medical team has come under fire for not releasing info on when exactly it was first known when Trump showed signs of infection. While it was believed that the president was being tested frequently for the coronavirus, the White House refuses to answer when Trump’s last negative coronavirus test was.
