Trump out of hospital, ‘not out of the woods’
President returns to White House as doctors warn that his symptoms could return
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump was discharged from Walter Reed National Medical Center on Monday night, three days after he was hospitalized for COVID-19 and hours after his doctors warned they won’t know for a week whether he has fully recovered.
Despite receiving experimental drugs and setbacks over the weekend that suggested medical complications, Trump insisted he was feeling “better than I did 20 years ago,” even as his doctor warned the president was “not entirely out of the woods yet.”
Wearing a mask and his usual blue suit, Trump walked out of the hospital, raised his fist and then climbed into an armored SUV at 6:40 p.m. Eastern time, almost three days exactly after he was helicoptered to the hospital.
The mixed messaging reflected days of confusion and misleading statements from the White House, which has become a center of contagion for the disease. In addition to the president and first lady Melania Trump, at least a dozen Trump aides, campaign officials, Republican lawmakers and recent contacts have tested positive for the coronavirus since last week.
In a tweet earlier Monday, Trump again downplayed the severity of the pandemic that has killed more than 210,000 Americans and infected 7.4 million others — including more than 100,000 since he went into the hospital Friday.
“Don’t be afraid of Covid,” he tweeted. “Don’t let it dominate your life.”
The advice rang alarms among health professionals, who pointed out that the disease remains deadly and is spiking in numerous states. For now, they said, Trump remains contagious and should isolate himself at the White House for 10 days to avoid infecting others.
Trump’s physician, Dr. Sean Conley, told reporters that Trump has
“met or exceeded all standard hospital discharge criteria” even as he cautioned that Trump could face a relapse in coming days.
“If we can get through (next) Monday ... then we will all take that deep sigh of relief,” he said.
Conley acknowledged that Trump’s response is unusual because, as president, he was given experimental drugs unavailable to the general public and was treated at the nation’s foremost military hospital. Few other Americans have access to that kind of care.
“We’re in a bit of uncharted territory when it
comes to a patient that received the therapies he has so early in the course,” he added.
Experts warned that Trump’s attempts to portray the disease as not a danger is both premature and irresponsible given the pandemic’s deadly toll.
“It’s a hell of a message to send when everywhere you look around the world, indicators are showing that as we get into the fall we’re seeing more cases, just like scientists expected,” said Ralph Catalano, a professor of public health at the University of California, Berkeley. “And to encourage people to put themselves at risk right now seems reckless and inhumane.
How irresponsible can a president actually be?”
Chris Beyrer, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said Trump has been lucky, getting experimental drugs and the world’s best health care.
“So his message about ‘don’t be afraid of COVID’ rings quite false,” he said. “Over 200,000 American dead suggest we all should remain highly concerned about COVID. Not all have been so fortunate or so well cared for.”
Conley said it’s been 72 hours since Trump, who has been on several drugs, last had a fever and that his breathing has normalized.