White House Physician Makes Major Announcement: Trump To Carry on His Duties 'Without Disruption'
President Donald Trump will not let a COVID-19 diagnosis stop him from carrying out his duties, according to the president’s doctor.
After the president and first lady Melania Trump announced they had tested positive for the coronavirus, physician to the president Sean P. Conley said President Trump will continue to exercise the duties of his office.
“Rest assured I expect the President to continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering, and I will keep you updated on any future developments,” the Navy commander said in a statement late Thursday.
“I release the following information with the permission of President Donald J. Trump and First Lady Melania Trump,” the beginning of the statement had said. “This evening I received confirmation that both President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
“The President and First Lady are both well at this time, and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence,” it added.
“The White House medical team and I will maintain a vigilant watch, and I appreciate the support provided by some of our country’s greatest medical professionals and institutions.”
Despite the memo, the White House cleared Trump’s Friday schedule of public events with the exception of a phone call to discuss support for seniors with COVID-19, according to The New York Times.
Speaking Friday morning on Fox News, Dr. Marc Siegel noted that the president’s lack of underlying conditions is a good sign.
“A vast majority of people, still, either have no symptoms or they have very minor symptoms,” the Fox medical contributor said.
Siegel said he was concerned that Trump aide Hope Hicks, whose positive test for the virus on Thursday initially led to an announcement that the president and first lady would go into quarantine, is reportedly showing symptoms of the virus.
He said the fact that Trump is “asymptomatic is a really good sign, but we have to watch that very, very closely.”
“There’s no question in my mind,” Siegel said, “he can perform his duties, 100 percent. No symptoms.
“That’s not even an issue on the table here.”
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows did tell reporters Friday that Trump is experiencing “mild symptoms” of the virus, according to The Washington Post.
Former White House physician Dr. Ronny Jackson predicted Friday on Fox that Trump will be “ready to go” by the scheduled Oct. 15 debate with Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.
“That’s plenty of time. He’s going to be ready to go long before that, quite honestly,” said Jackson, who’s now a Republican candidate for Congress in Texas.
“Once he has two negative tests that are 24 hours apart, he should be good to go back at that point and go back to normal,” Jackson said.
“Once he tests negative twice, he should be safe to go back to his normal routine, and that will be well before the next debate.”
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