Trump says ‘don’t be afraid of Covid’ as he announces he will leave hospital within hours

A car with US President Trump drives past supporters in a motorcade outside of Walter Reed Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, over the weekend

Credit: AFP

Donald Trump has announced that he will leave the hospital where he is being treated for coronavirus later today, despite his doctor warning he "might not be entirely out of the woods yet.”

"I will be leaving the great Walter Reed Medical Center today at 6:30 P.M. Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life," Mr Trump tweeted, ahead of an update delivered by doctors treating him at Walter Reed Hospital in Maryland.

"We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!" he wrote.

White House officials said Mr Trump was anxious to be released after three nights at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where doctors revealed on Sunday that his blood oxygen level had dropped suddenly twice in recent days and that they gave him a steroid typically only recommended for the very sick.

President Donald Trump works in his conference room at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after testing positive for Covid-19

Credit: The White House

He has been put on a cocktail of medications, which includes steroids and the experimental antibody drug Regeneron.

"Over the past 24 hours the President has continued to improve, it has been more than 72 hours since his last fever," Dr Sean Conley, the White House physician said at a press conference on Monday afternoon. "Though he may not be entirely out of the woods just yet," he added, saying he met most of his discharge requirements on Sunday.

“Every day a patient stays in hospitals unnecessarily is a risk to themselves," he said. "All of his treatments can be conducted at home.”

The New York Times reported that Mr Trump has pressed his medical team to discharge him, however they were concerned doing so too early would risk his recovery.

The paper claimed they reached a "compromise" by allowing the president to briefly leave the hospital for a drive-by in a motorcade to greet supporters waiting outside.

In his tweet, Mr Trump again downplayed the outbreak in the US, where some 210,000 have died since March and more than seven million infected.

The families of some of the victims pointed out that while Mr Trump directed people "not to be afraid" of the virus, the majority of Americans do not have access to the drugs and care given to the president.

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