WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s doctor delivered an update on the president’s condition later Monday afternoon at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
Trump is undergoing treatment for a fourth day for COVID-19.
Just minutes before the briefing, President Trump tweeted that he will be leaving Walter Reed Medical Center at 6:30 p.m. Monday.
It has been more than 24 hours since Trump’s physicians last provided an update on his condition, though White House aides said Trump was hopeful to be discharged as soon as Monday afternoon.
Trump sent a number of all-caps tweets Monday morning encouraging supporters to vote, with just weeks until Election Day. But he hasn’t yet appeared in photos or videos released by the White House on Monday.
President Donald Trump is planning to return to the White House on Monday evening, but doctors couldn’t say when he’ll no longer be contagious for the coronavirus or when he’d be able to travel again.
The president’s personal physician, Dr. Sean Conley, told reporters at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday afternoon that Trump is not out of the woods yet, but that there is no care at the hospital that the president cannot get at the White House.
Typically, COVID-19 patients don’t have tests when they leave the hospital. Doctors says Trump will be given advanced testing that is not readily available to determine when no more viable virus is present.
Trump announced his coronavirus diagnosis early Friday and spent three days in the hospital.
Meanwhile, Monday afternoon, former Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe tweeted a critical response to Trump’s message telling people not to be afraid of the coronavirus.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy says that President Donald Trump’s fundraiser at his Bedminster golf club hours before he announced he had contracted the coronavirus was wrong and “put lives at risk.”
Murphy on Monday called the trip the “wrong decision at every level” and said it should have been canceled.
The state is trying to keep tabs on the 206 attendees and 19 workers in an effort to thwart a potential outbreak stemming from the large gathering Thursday, which included an indoor roundtable with the president and photo opportunities.
White House spokesperson Judd Deere says the president didn’t have any contact with donors or staff that would be considered close, based on the CDC guidelines of longer than 15 minutes and within 6 feet (1.8 meters).
But Dr. Rich Roberts, a pharmaceutical executive from New Jersey who made a video describing the event, said he sat a seat away from Trump during the indoor roundtable that lasted 45 minutes.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany says she has tested positive for COVID-19. This comes days after President Donald Trump tested positive for the coronavirus.
McEnany says in a statement that she tested positive Monday morning and is experiencing no symptoms at this time. She spoke briefly with reporters Sunday evening, but says that no members of the White House press corps spent enough time around her to be considered close contacts.
She says that she is beginning the quarantine process and “will continue working on behalf of the American People remotely.”
