COVID-19 Infection Spreads In Trump’s Camp As US President Remains In Hospital

A number of aides of President Donald Trump have been diagnosed with COVID-19 as the US leader spent his second day at Walter Reed Medical Center on Saturday.

There could be more infections among his loyalists, according to reports on Saturday.

But Trump’s personal physician, Sean Conley, said yesterday the President was “doing very well.”

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

He said he was “extremely happy” with the president’s progress so far.

The rank of Trump’s backers who have tested positive include First Lady Melania, Campaign Manager, Bill Stepien, Kellyanne Conway, who, until recently, was one of Trump’s most visible aides and staunchest defenders and Presidential Advisor, Hope Hicks.

Three reporters in the White House Press Corps similarly tested positive.

Trump and Melania announced their COVID-19 status on Friday after appearing at a slew of events earlier in the week, including a presidential debate, a fundraiser at his Bedminster resort and a White House Rose Garden ceremony to nominate Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

Many people who attended these events, including top Republican senators, have also tested positive for the virus this week.

More than 7.3 million Americans have already contracted the coronavirus with more than 208,000 Americans dying from the disease.

The White House pool, the group of reporters who follow President Donald Trump throughout the day, passed along a statement on the president’s health from a source on background:

“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. We’re still not on a clear path to a full recovery.”

Secret Service agents have allegedly complained about not being tested for the virus after returning from rallies with the president in recent weeks.

Trump held three rallies in the days leading up to his positive test result. He remained hospitalised at Walter Reed military hospital yesterday.

The White House said his relocation to the medical center was out of an “abundance of caution.”

His status sparked fears at the White House, as campaign travel was suspended; senior officials rushed to get tested and aides sought to track down people who may have been exposed to the virus. That evening, a masked Mr. Trump walked across the South Lawn to the Marine One helicopter to head to the hospital.

11 positive coronavirus tests linked back to presidential debate

A report yesterday said at least 11 positive coronavirus cases had been traced back to people involved in setup and organising for penultimate week’s debate between President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, according to Cleveland officials.

“The City of Cleveland is aware of positive cases of COVID-19 following the Sept. 29 presidential debate. In total, at this time, we are aware of 11 cases stemming from pre-debate planning and set-up, with the majority of cases occurring among out of state residents,” Cleveland City Hall,” said in a statement.

The Cleveland announcement specifies that the positive tests were traced back to people who were involved only in the organisation of the debate days prior to the event.

“The 11 people who tested positive never accessed the debate hall,” NBC News reported, citing the Cleveland Clinic.

“These individuals were either members of the media or were scheduled to work logistics/set-up in the days prior to the event,” according to a Clinic statement from Friday night. “Individuals did not receive credentials or tickets to enter the debate hall until they had a negative test, and all were advised to isolate while they awaited their test results.”

The 11 individuals who tested positive were mostly out-of-state residents, according to the City Hall release. City health officials have reached out to them and issued orders of isolation.

‘Doing very well’: Trump White House physician Sean Conley

Trump’s personal physician, Dr. Sean Conley, told reporters yesterday that the president was doing well hours after he was taken to the hospital after experiencing fever, congestion and symptoms from coronavirus.

“This morning, the president is doing very well,” said Dr. Sean Conley, who said he was “extremely happy” with the president’s progress so far.

Trump’s medical team also denied a report Friday that the president was having trouble breathing.

“He’s not on oxygen right now,” Conley said, adding that Trump had an oxygen saturation level of 96%, within the normal range for a healthy person.

Doctors monitor oxygen in blood as an indicator of whether there’s low oxygen levels, one of the problems that occurs with COVID-19.

Conley said the president developed a fever Thursday and said that doctors were continuing to evaluate when he could return to the White House. Asked why, specifically, he had been transferred to Walter Reed, Conley indicated it was out of an abundance of caution.

“Because he’s the president of the United States,” Conley said.

Trump ‘faking’ COVID-19, says film director/activist, Michael Moore

Michael Moore however said Trump could be faking Covid-19 to boost his falling poll numbers.

The 66-year-old director and left-wing activist in a rant on Facebook yesterday said: “He may have it. But it’s also possible he’s lying. That’s just a fact.

”But – he’s losing the election. And he knows it. It’s not 2016. He was hated in 2016, but he’s hated even more now.

“Millions of Americans are on fire and on the verge of serving him up a major league ass-whooping and a record landslide defeat.

“So he needs – badly – to totally change the conversation about this campaign.  And he just has.”

-VP Pence ordered borders closed after CDC experts refused

Vice President Mike Pence in March directed the nation’s top disease control agency to use its emergency powers to effectively seal the U.S. borders, overruling the agency’s scientists who said there was no evidence the action would slow the coronavirus, according to two former health officials. The action has so far caused nearly 150,000 children and adults to be expelled from the country.

The top Centers for Disease Control and Prevention doctor who oversees these types of orders had refused to comply with a Trump administration directive saying there was no valid public health reason to issue it, according to three people with direct knowledge of the doctor’s refusal.

-PUNCH