What Trump’s COVID-19 Diagnosis Means for the Next 30 Days
President Trump, rare for his character, wears a mask. Last week, it was revealed by the White House that he contracted COVID-19. Source.
On October 2, President Trump announced that both he and First Lady Melania Trump had contracted the coronavirus. Since then, the country has endured a rocky week during an already uncertain election season. We have experienced a presidential address, conflicting doctor reports, and endless speculation over the last week.
Trump's tweet kicked the entire saga off: “Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!”
The White House quickly cleared the President’s public schedule for October 2, as a significant number of White House staffers also tested positive. A senior White House official speculated that it, "seems highly likely this (outbreak) originated at the SCOTUS announcement last week. It may have come from the Hill. The next major concern will be securing Capitol Hill and protecting lawmakers.” Participants at the SCOTUS announcement were observed clearly not following social distancing protocols.
Later on Friday, after the President’s announcement, Trump was moved to Walter Reed Medical Center. White House physician Sean Conley provided various reports regarding the President’s health over the course of the weekend, although the specifics of Trump’s illness were hard to follow. The President has received the experimental Regeron therapy, is on a five-day course of the antiviral drug remdesivir, and the steroid dexamethasone. About Regeron: Dr. Anthony Fauci states, “Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody was one of the two types of antibodies that was very successful with Ebola and the very fact that it was successful in Ebola, another very serious viral infection, had us be cautiously optimistic ... has the potential to really be something very, very important in the treatment of COVID-19 patients.” Fauci is “strongly suspicious” that Regeron has played a role in Trump’s return to health. Despite experiencing “two episodes of transient drops in his oxygen saturation,” Trump attempted to display strength and even made a controversial SUV ride to make an appearance in front of supporters.
The SUV ride was followed by President Trump’s decision to leave Walter Reed on Monday evening. Throughout the weekend, Trump vyed to get out of the hospital and engaged the nation through videos on Twitter. Trump has been seemingly downplaying the coronavirus as he progresses through his recovery, even telling Americans not to be afraid of it. Fear of the coronavirus has ensured that Americans follow social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines, which will continue to save lives if continued. Disease modeling has shown that tens of thousands of American lives could be saved if social distancing and mask-wearing protocols continue to be followed.
Although President Trump returns to the White Houses and his symptoms appear to be gone, it will be important to monitor his health moving forward. He has been warned that, politically, any setback in his health and possible re-hospitalization, could be a huge setback on the campaign. President Trump still plans on participating in the next debate on October 15 in Miami, although the CDC does recommend isolating for ten days following coronavirus symptoms.