BOSTON — Early on Friday morning, President Donald Trump announced through his Twitter account he and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The news comes just hours after presidential aide Hope Hicks announced she had tested positive for COVID-19. Hicks had been traveling with the president on several trips recently, including attending a rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday. She was photographed without a mask at the Pennsylvania rally clapping to the Village People’s “YMCA” with other Trump aides," the Washington Post reported.
President Trump’s diagnosis was sure to have a destabilizing effect in Washington and around the world, raising questions about how far the virus had spread through the highest levels of the U.S. government.
The president’s physician said in a memo that Trump and the first lady, who is 50, “are both well at this time” and “plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.”
An update later on Friday morning said while President Trump was experiencing “mild symptoms,” but was doing well. The diagnosis is going to require both the president and the first lady to sit out any and all events for the next two weeks while they quarantine for 14 days.
The New York Times is citing two sources in saying the president is showing mild symptoms of the novel coronavirus. He was described by someone at Thursday night’s fundraiser as lethargic when interacting with the 100 people in attendance.
Meanwhile, the White House released a doctor’s note saying the president is doing well, however, the White House has not always been forthcoming about the president’s medical history.
Last year, a trip the president took to Walter Reed last year appeared to be unscheduled, but was then described as part of an annual physical.
As far as how serious is the president’s risk of getting a severe case of COVID-19, only time will tell, but so far, according to data released by the White House, President Trump is in a high risk group simply by virtue of his age and weight.
He is 74-years-old and has been diagnosed as clinically obese. According to his last physical, there is no evidence of cancer, diabetes or other conditions known to put people at a higher risk, but a CT scan showed he had elevated levels of plaque.
“I have to tell you, I think I and many physicians weren’t surprised, but we were shocked and we wish both of them well,” said Executive Vice Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital Dr. Ali Raja. “I’m very concerned for their health [because] eight out of 10 people who died from coronavirus were over the age of 65 and President Trump is right in that group."
For further context on some of that data, the CDC says people in the 65 to 74 age range face a risk of hospitalization that’s five times higher than the average, healthy adult. That means that age group is at 90 times at greater risk of death compared to young adults.
In Massachusetts, the majority of deaths have happened among people 70-years-old or older. That being said, each individual case is different.
Press Sec. Kayleigh McEnany issued later on Friday a news release with information on what medication the president was put on following his COVID-19 diagnosis.
According to the release, “as a precautionary measure,” President Trump "received a single 8-gram dose of Regeneron’s polyclonal antibody cocktail.
An update from President @realDonaldTrump's physician: pic.twitter.com/cTsXO4Df6b
— Kayleigh McEnany (@PressSec) October 2, 2020
The president’s physician, Sean P. Conley, said the president completed the infusion without any issues.
“In addition to the polyclonal antibodies, the president has been taking zinc, vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin and a daily aspirin,” the release said.
First Lady Melania Trump reportedly is doing well with “only a mild cough and headache.”
President Trump’s handling of the pandemic has already been a major flashpoint in his race against Democrat Joe Biden, who spent much of the summer off the campaign trail and at his home in Delaware because of the virus. Biden has since resumed a more active campaign schedule, but with small, socially distanced crowds. He also regularly wears a mask in public, something Trump mocked him for at Tuesday night’s debate.
“I don’t wear masks like him,” Trump said of Biden. “Every time you see him, he’s got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from me, and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen.”
In a tweet Friday morning, Biden said he and his wife “send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery. We will continue to pray for the health and safety of the president and his family.” Vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her husband tweeted similar sentiments.
Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, second lady Karen Pence, tested negative for COVID-19 on Friday morning, according to Pence’s press secretary, Devin O’Malley.
A White House official told CNN on Friday that White House advisers Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have tested negative for COVID-19. Baron Trump has also tested negative.
Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel tested positive Wednesday for the coronavirus, The New York Times reported. Citing unidentified sources, the Times reported McDaniel has mild symptoms.
Dow futures plummeted early Friday following President Donald Trump’s announcement that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19.Shortly after 4 a.m. EDT, Dow futures were down 328 points, CNN Business reported.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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