WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on coronavirus infections hitting President Donald Trump and others in his circle (all times EDT):
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President Donald Trump’s physician says he was trying to “reflect the upbeat attitude” of the president and his medical team when he declined to share Saturday that Trump was placed on oxygen the day before.
Navy Cmdr. Dr. Sean Conley was pressed Sunday on why his rosy picture of the president’s health was contradicted moments later by White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who expressed that the medical team was very concerned with the president’s health Friday morning when he experienced a drop in his blood oxygen levels and had a high fever.
Said Conley: “I was trying to reflect the upbeat attitude of the team, that the president, that his course of illness has had.”
He added that he “didn’t want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction. And in doing so, came off like we’re trying to hide something, which wasn’t necessarily true.”
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11:55 a.m.
President Donald Trump’s team of doctors says he is doing well after his COVID-19 diagnosis and could be discharged as early as Monday to continue his treatment.
Dr. Brian Garibaldi, a specialist in pulmonary critical care, said Trump received a second dose of the experimental drug remdesivir along with a first dose of dexamethasone Saturday and isn’t showing any side effects “that we can tell.”
He said Sunday that Trump is “up and well” and the plan was to have him “out of bed” Sunday as much as possible.
Garibaldi and Trump’s doctor, Dr. Sean Conley, said if things continue to go well, Trump will be able to return to the White House on Monday to continue his five-day course of remdesivir treatment and other appropriate therapy.
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11:50 a.m.
The president’s physician says President Donald Trump was treated with a steroid after a drop in oxygen levels on Saturday.
Dr. Sean Conley said at a news conference on Sunday that he was given the steroid dexamethasone while he was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Conley said the president’s oxygen level had dropped down to 93% on Saturday. He says the president did not feel short of breath.
He says the president’s medical team is hoping Trump will be up and about, out of bed and eating and drinking throughout the day.
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11:15 a.m.
President Donald Trump’s doctors are set to brief the public on his condition late Sunday morning after he spent a second night hospitalized with COVID-19.
Navy Cmdr. Dr. Sean Conley, the president’s physician, and the rest of his medical team are expected to provide an update on Trump’s treatment at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The briefing is expected to begin at 11:30 am.
Saturday’s briefing featured mixed messages, as Conley painted a rosy picture of the president’s health, only to see White House chief of staff Mark Meadows later say officials were very concerned with the president’s condition before he was hospitalized.
A small group of Trump supporters gathered outside the hospital on Sunday, some waving large blue Trump flags and others holding smaller American flags and Trump-Pence reelection signs. The song “God Bless the U.S.A.” played in the background, occasionally interrupted by the supportive honking of a car horn, as the group waved the flags and paced back-and-forth outside the entrance to the military installation. A much larger group had gathered Saturday night cheering for the president.
