Expect virus to spread in White House, Trump’s chief warns. Get all latest updates here
Watch Now, above: See Trump’s busy week before his Covid-19 diagnosis
Chief of staff Mark Meadows says more White House staffers are expected to test positive for the coronavirus following news that President Donald Trump contracted the virus this week.
“I fully expect as this virus continues to go on, other people in the White House certainly will have a positive test result,” Meadows said.
A White House staffer who sits in the press area of the West Wing also received a confirmed positive result Friday. Three journalists who work at the White House tested positive on Friday, according to a series of memos from the White House Correspondents Association.
Vice President Mike Pence and second lady Karen Pence tested negative for COVID-19 Friday.
HOW IS THE PRESIDENT DOING RIGHT NOW?
The White House says President Donald Trump will spend a “few days” at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on the advice of his physicians after contracting COVID-19.
The White House says that the visit is precautionary and that Trump will work from the hospital’s presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to continue his official duties.
In video before hospital trip, Trump says, ‘I think I’m doing very well,’ going ‘to make sure that things work out.’
The hospital move came roughly 15 hours after Trump disclosed he had tested positive for the virus. In a statement, the President’s spokeswoman said Trump “remains in good spirits, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day.”
“Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the President will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days,” press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said.
Meadows said President Trump was experiencing mild symptoms, but continues to work from the White House residence as he quarantines. First lady Melania Trump says she is experiencing “mild symptoms” after also testing positive for COVID-19. The Trumps’ youngest child, Barron, 14, has tested negative for the virus.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says he spoke by phone to Trump. The Republican leader said in a tweet the two “talked business” on Friday and Trump was in “good spirits.”
Typically, it can take four to five days for symptoms to show up after someone is infected with coronavirus. The incubation period can extend up to 14 days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
HOW DID HE GET SICK?
It is not clear when the president was exposed. The president tested positive for the coronavirus hours after it was revealed that top White House aide Hope Hicks had contracted COVID-19.
Utah Sen. Mike Lee and University of Notre Dame president Rev. John Jenkins have also tested positive for the virus after they attended Trump’s Rose Garden ceremony on Saturday to announce the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the U.S. Supreme Court.
WHAT HAS BEEN DONE TO TREAT THE PRESIDENT’S ILLNESS?
Trump’s doctor says Trump is being treated with an experimental drug aimed at supplying antibodies to help fight his coronavirus infection.
Trump received a two-antibody combo drug that’s currently in late-stage studies from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. The company previously developed a successful treatment for Ebola using a similar approach.
Trump’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, said the drug was being given “as a precautionary measure.” Antibodies are proteins the body makes when an infection occurs. They attach to a virus and help it be eliminated. But it can take weeks for them to form. The drugs are purified versions of ones that seemed to work best in lab and animal tests.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN MORE DEPTH
RELATED DEVELOPMENTS TODAY
- The White House does not appear to be making any changes to current virus protocol, even after President Donald Trump and the first lady tested positive for COVID-19.
- A senior White House official said Friday that masks will still not be mandatory at the White House, describing facial coverings as “a personal choice.”
- The vice presidential debate between Mike Pence and Kamala Harris next week will go on as scheduled.
- President Donald Trump’s campaign manager says all campaign events involving the president and his family will either be turned into virtual events or postponed until further notice.
- Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, a frequent target of President Donald Trump’s, is blasting him for what she calls “actively spreading a deadly virus.” Omar said earlier this year that her father died of the virus, and she said in a statement Friday that she doesn’t wish it on anyone.
- Minnesota health officials are urging people who attended events associated with President Donald Trump’s visit this week to consider being tested for the coronavirus. The health department said community transmission was high in St. Louis County — which includes Duluth — before the rally, and attendees may have been infectious without realizing it.
- The Pennsylvania Department of Health is encouraging people who were at President Donald Trump’s campaign rally at Harrisburg International Airport on Saturday to get tested if they are feeling sick.
- Joe Biden traveled to Michigan on Friday after he and his wife, Jill, tested negative for the coronavirus. He was tested for the virus after attending Tuesday’s debate with Trump.
WELL WISHERS LINE UP, EVEN OPPONENTS
Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris is wishing President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump a “full and speedy recovery” after they contracted the COVID-19 virus.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she’s praying for the president and hopes his testing positive for COVID-19 might be a “learning experience” about the virus.
Biden said Friday that he and his wife Jill “send our thoughts to President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for a swift recovery” after they tested positive for the coronavirus.
And abroad, Russian President Vladimir Putin extended wishes of a speedy recovery. The Kremlin says Putin sent Trump a telegram saying that his “inherent vitality, good spirits and optimism will help you cope with the dangerous virus.”
