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About The daily Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1961-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 2020)
A3 THEASTORIAN • TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2020 Trump leaves hospital By ZEKE MILLER, JILL COLVIN and AAMER MADHANI Associated Press BETHESDA, Md. — President Donald Trump said Monday he’s leaving the mil itary hospital where he has been treated for COVID-19 and will continue his recov ery at the White House. He said he’s feeling good and despite his attack the nation should not be afraid of the virus that has killed more than 209,000 Americans. Trump’s expected return comes after he has received an exceptionally aggressive course of treatment and a standard of care well above what is available to aver age Americans. His doctor, U.S. Navy Cmdr. Sean Con ley, said the president would not be fully out of the woods for another week, but he said Trump had “met or exceeded all standard hospital dis charge criteria.” Trump himself made a point of sounding confident. He tweeted, “I will be leav ing the great Walter Reed Medical Center today at 6:30 P.M. Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. ... I feel better than I did 20 years ago!” Conley said that because of Trump’s unusual level of treatment so early after dis covery of his illness he was in “uncharted territory.” Con ley was also upbeat at an afternoon briefing and said the president could resume his normal schedule once “there is no evidence of live virus still present.” Accord ing to the Centers for Dis ease Control and Prevention, those with mild to moderate symptoms of COVID-19 can be contagious for as many — and should isolate for at least — 10 days. The CDC on Monday also acknowledged that people can sometimes be infected with the coronavirus through airborne transmission, espe cially in enclosed spaces with inadequate ventilation. White House officials said Trump was anxious to be released after three nights at Walter Reed National Mil itary Medical Center, where doctors revealed on Sun day that his blood oxygen level had dropped suddenly twice in recent days and that they gave him a steroid typ ically only recommended for the very sick. Trump was to leave the hospital after receiving a fourth dose of the antiviral drug remdesivir Monday evening, Conley said. He will receive the fifth and final dose Tuesday at the White House. Trump’s expected dis charge raised new questions about how the administration was going to protect other officials from a disease that remains rampant in the pres ident’s body, and came as the scale of the outbreak at the White House itself is still being uncovered. Multiple people, includ- Anthony Peltier/AP Photo President Donald Trump drives past supporters gathered outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on Sunday. 7 WILL BE LEAVING THE GREAT WALTER REED MEDICAL CENTER TODAY AT 6:30 P.M. FEELING REALLY GOOD! DON’T BE AFRAID OF COVID. DON’T LET IT DOMINATE YOUR LIFE. ... I FEEL BETTER THAN I DID 20 YEARS AGO!’ President Donald Trump ing Bill Stepien, Trump’s campaign manager, and for mer New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Kellyanne Con way, who were at Trump’s nomination ceremony at the White House for judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, are among those who have attended events or trav eled with the president over the last several days to have contracted the virus. Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany announced she had tested positive for the virus Mon day morning and was enter ing quarantine. Conley repeatedly declined to share results of medical scans of Trump’s lungs, saying he was not at liberty to discuss the infor mation because Trump did not waive doctor-patient con fidentiality on the subject. COVID-19 has been known to cause significant damage to the lungs of some patients. Conley also declined to share the date of Trump’s most recent negative test for the virus — a critical data point for contact tracing and under standing where Trump was in the course of the disease. Trump’s nonchalant mes sage about not fearing the virus comes as his own administration has encour aged Americans to be very careful and take precautions to avoid contracting and spreading the disease as cases continue to spike across the country. For more than eight months, Trump’s efforts to play down the threat of the virus in hopes of propping up the economy ahead of the election have drawn biparti san criticism. Less than one month before Election Day, Trump was eager to project strength despite his illness. In a short video released by the White House on Sunday, Trump insisted he understood the gravity of the moment. But his actions moments later, by leaving the hospital and sitting inside the SUV with others, suggested otherwise. Only a day earlier, Trump suggested he had finally grasped the true nature of the virus, saying in a video, “I get it.” On Sunday afternoon, Trump briefly ventured out of the hospital while conta gious to salute cheering sup porters by motorcade — an outing that disregarded pre cautions meant to contain the virus. Secret Service agents inside the vehicle could be seen in masks and other pro tective gear. Trump’s doctors side stepped questions on Sunday about exactly when his blood oxygen dropped — episodes they neglected to mention in multiple statements the day before — or whether lung scans showed any damage. The disclosures about Trump’s oxygen levels and steroid treatment suggested the president is enduring more than a mild case of COVID-19. Trump’s treatment with the steroid dexamethasone is in addition to the single dose he was given Friday of an experimental drug from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. that supplies antibod ies to help the immune sys tem fight the virus. Trump on Friday also began a five- day course of remdesivir, a Gilead Sciences drug cur rently used for moderately and severely ill patients. The drugs work in different ways — the antibodies help the immune system rid the body of virus, and remde sivir curbs the virus’ ability to multiply. The steroid’s use has only been proven to help in more serious cases. Among the concerns with earlier use is that steroids tamp down cer tain immune cells, hinder ing the body’s own ability to fight off infection. Trump is 74 years old and clinically obese, putting him at higher risk of serious complications. First lady Melania Trump has remained at the White House as she recovers from her own bout with the virus. Many in the White House are also shaken and scared — nervous that they have been exposed to the virus and confronting the reality that what seemed like a bubble of safety has become a COVID- 19 hot spot. It took until late Sunday for the White House to send a generic note to staffers suggesting they not come to the building if they do not feel well. Associated Press -writers Lauran Neergaard, Jonathan Lemire, Aamer Madhani, Bill Barrow and Marilynn Mar- chione contributed to this report. Follow us on Facebook! 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