President Trump ‘doing very well’, says White House doctor

US President Donald Trump was moved to military hospital in Maryland on Friday after testing positive for COVID-19.

US President Donald Trump moved to Walter Reed Medical Center on Friday evening [Joshua Roberts/Reuters]

Donald Trump’s doctor said on Saturday that the US president is “doing very well”, hours after he was moved to Walter Reed Medical Center for treatment after testing positive for COVID-19.

Speaking to reporters outside the military hospital in Bethesda, Maryland, Dr Sean Conley said Trump has been “fever-free for 24 hours” after he had a mild cough, nasal congestion and fatigue on Thursday.

“This morning, the president is doing very well,” Conley said.

“At this time, the team and I are extremely happy with the progress the president has made,” said Conley, who added that he recommended moving Trump to the medical centre “as a precautionary measure to provide state-of-the-art monitoring and any care that he may need”.

An unnamed source familiar with the president’s health told reporters Saturday, however, that Trump was “still not on a clear path to a full recovery”, according to a read-out from the White House press pool.

“The president’s vitals over the last 24 hours were very concerning and the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care,” the source said.

Still, Conley said Saturday that “there’s no cause for concern”.

Dr. Sean Conley spoke to the media about US President Donald Trump’s health outside Walter Reed Medical Center on Saturday morning [Ken Cedeno/Reuters]

The president received a first dose of a five-day course of Remdesivir, a drug known to help patients recover from the virus, and has not received supplemental oxygen on Saturday, Friday or Thursday, Conley told reporters.

“Right now, all indicators are that he’ll remain off of oxygen going forward,” he said.

White House officials said late on Friday that Trump was moved to the facility “out of an abundance of caution” and would be working from there for the “next few days”.

Trump was seen walking onto a helicopter outside the White House on Friday evening to be taken to Walter Reed.

In a video filmed shortly before his departure, the president said, “I think I’m doing very well, but we’re going to make sure that things work out.” He later tweeted from the hospital: “Going welI, I think! Thank you to all. LOVE!!!”

Trump’s hospitalisation has thrown the US presidential election campaign into uncertainty, as the Republican leader has had to postpone scheduled events.

It is also unclear whether upcoming debates between Trump and his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, will be held.

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