The team of doctors responsible for U.S. President Donald Trump's treatment have caused widespread confusion about the president's condition after giving mixed-up messages about methods of coronavirus treatment.
During a Sunday briefing Dr. Sean P. Conley, the doctor in charge, told reporters Trump had received oxygen on Thursday and Friday, while on Saturday he apparently stated that the president had not received oxygen after being hospitalized with COVID-19.
Dr. Sean P. Conley said that Trump's condition was improving, as he receives treatment at a military hospital – possibly returning to the White House as early as Monday.
Meanwhile, his colleague Dr. Brian Garibaldi stressed that Trump was given the steroid dexamethasone, which is used in medical treatment to improve survival for patients hospitalized with critical COVID-19 who need extra oxygen. According to guidelines from the Infectious Disease Society of America, this should not be given in mild cases – since it can limit the body's own ability to combat the virus.
Asked what tests had revealed about the condition of Trump's lungs, Conley replied, "There are some expected findings, but nothing of any major clinical concern."
Trump is also being given an experimental treatment, Regeneron's REGN-COV2, as well as zinc, Vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin and aspirin, his doctors have said.
"Today he feels well, he's been up and around. Our plan for today is to have him eat and drink, be up out of bed as much as possible, to be mobile," Garibaldi said. "And if he continues to look and feel as well as he does today our hope is that we can plan for discharge as early as tomorrow to the White House where he can continue his treatment course."
Trump released a four-minute video on Saturday in which he said the "real test" of his condition would come over the next few days.
"Over the next period of a few days, I guess that's the real test, so we'll be seeing what happens over those next couple of days," Trump said into the camera, looking tired and wearing a jacket and open-necked shirt.
He tweeted thanks to his supporters on Sunday.
Differing assessments of Trump's health from administration officials on Saturday left it unclear how ill the president had become since he tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday night.
Conley commented on the contradictory assessments Sunday.
"I was trying to reflect an upbeat attitude of the team and the president about the course his illness has had," Conley told reporters on Sunday. "I didn't want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction and in doing so, it came off that we were trying to hide something, which isn't necessarily true."
Meanwhile, a report by the Wall Street Journal claimed that Trump did not disclose his first positive COVID-19 test result on Thursday evening before making an appearance on Fox News.
