Since Donald Trump tweeted in the early hours of Friday morning that he had tested positive for Covid-19, his physician Dr Sean Conley has given a series of puzzling medical briefings – one of which was contradicted in an off-the-record briefing by a senior White House official – and the president himself has made a number of bullish comments about his health.
There are still a great deal of unanswered questions about Trump’s illness. Here’s a rundown of what we know – and what we don’t:
What we know
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Doctors have disclosed that the president’s blood oxygen levels dropped below normal levels at least twice, and that he was receiving steroid treatment typically used in more serious cases, suggesting Trump was enduring more than a mild case of Covid-19.
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They say that Trump will continue to receive his treatments at the White House, which is equipped with medical facilities, following his release from Walter Reed military hospital on Monday.
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On Friday, Trump began a five-day course of remdesivir, a Gilead Sciences drug currently used for moderately and severely ill patients.
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He received a single dose on Friday of an experimental drug from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals that supplies antibodies to help the immune system fight the virus.
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Trump has also been treated with the steroid dexamethasone. It has only been proven to help in more serious cases. Among concerns over its use is that steroids can reduce the body’s own ability to fight off infection.
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Conley said on Monday that Trump may not be entirely out of the woods yet, but his clinical status supported the president’s safe return home. He said the president could resume his normal schedule once there was no evidence of live virus still present.
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The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say those with mild to moderate symptoms should isolate for at least 10 days.
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Stephanie Grisham, the spokeswoman for Melania Trump, said all precautions were being taken to safeguard those serving the ailing Trumps in the White House’s residential quarters, in consultation with the White House’s medical unit.
What we don’t know
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We still don’t really know the extent to which Trump was ill, or how ill he is now.
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Conley has detailed vital signs such as temperature and blood pressure when they are normal, but repeatedly refused to give information that would indicate how serious – for example – the president’s respiratory troubles may have been.
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Conley also has failed to explain why Trump is receiving treatments typically reserved for difficult Covid-19 cases.
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Trump’s doctors said that the president had refused to waive patient-doctor confidentiality to allow them to discuss the results of his lung scans. Covid-19 can cause significant damage to lungs and scans can reveal signs of pneumonia and other problems.
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With treatments still evolving in the pandemic, Trump’s doctors concede they themselves don’t know everything about the interplay of the medications he is taking. “We’re in a bit of uncharted territory,” Conley said.
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Conley also refused to detail when Trump last tested negative for Covid-19. That’s important for tracing those he might have been in close contact with after that time, and means it is still unclear if the president had coronavirus when he attended last Tuesday’s presidential debate with Joe Biden.
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The White House also is withholding details on what steps it is taking to stop the spread of the outbreak under way in Trump’s circle. More than a dozen aides, lawmakers and political figures around Trump have confirmed positive tests in recent days.
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Officials aren’t saying what measures are being adopted to protect the health of White House staffers as the infectious president returns home. The management team at the White House did not email staff about what to do following Trump’s positive test until late on Sunday evening.
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It is not known if Trump – who just last week was mocking election rival Joe Biden for wearing masks – has committed to abide by any precautions. His removal of his mask when returning to the White House, and insistence on a drive to wave at supporters outside Walter Reed on Sunday, suggests not.
Associated Press contributed to this report
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