Donald Trump was heading to Walter Reed Medical Center on Friday evening — the primary hospital that treats U.S. presidents — “out of an abundance of caution,” White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Friday afternoon.
The update on his condition comes less than 24 hours after he first announced he and First Lady Melania Trump had been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus.
“President Trump remains in good spirits, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day,” McEnany’s statement read. “Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the President will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days. President Trump appreciates the outpouring of support for both he and the First Lady.”
Marine One was seen landing at the White House on Friday afternoon to transport the president, 74, to the hospital.
White House physician Sean Conley previously said in a memo shared by White House officials around 4 p.m. on Friday that the president had “received a single 8-gram dose of Regeneron’s polyclonal antibody cocktail” and was also taking “zinc, vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin an a daily aspirin.”
“As of this afternoon the President remains fatigued but in good spirits,” Conley’s memo read. “He’s being evaluated by a team of experts, and together we’ll be making recommendations to the President and First Lady in regards to next best steps.”
The first lady was suffering from just “a mild cough and a headache,” Conley said.
Shortly after Conley’s memo was released, reports began circulating that the president was suffering from a low-grade fever, though White House officials were tight-lipped about his specific symptoms.
The Trumps said shortly after midnight that they had both tested positive for the virus, with an initial memo from Conley stating that the couple was “well at this time and they plan to remain at home within the White House during their convalescence.”
The president’s hospitalization, however, only sharpened concerns about his health.
He had not been seen in public since returning from a New Jersey fundraiser on Thursday, though he called in to Sean Hannity’s show on Fox News on Thursday night.
The White House at first insisted on Friday that he had mild symptoms and remained working.
His trip to Walter Reed was announced without notice later that day.
