White House Chief of Staff: "President's Health Far from Full Recovery... Next 48 Hours Crucial"

The attending physician said, "No fever for 24 hours"
NYT points out "Confusion over president's condition messages... Only increasing uncertainty"

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] White House Chief of Staff and the personal physician showed differing views on U.S. President Donald Trump's symptoms of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This has raised concerns that uncertainty surrounding the president's condition is increasing and causing confusion.

According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 3rd (local time), Chief of Staff Mark Meadows stated that "the president was very concerning yesterday." The New York Times, citing two sources, previously reported that President Trump experienced breathing difficulties and a drop in blood oxygen saturation a day earlier, and received oxygen therapy before being transferred to Walter Reed Military Hospital.

Meadows emphasized, "The president's vital signs over the past 24 hours were very concerning, and the next 48 hours are critical," adding, "He is not yet on the path to full recovery."

The NYT pointed out that Meadows' remarks differ from the personal physician's explanation, evaluating that "this only increases uncertainty and confusion about President Trump's health condition."

President Trump's personal physician, Dr. Sean Conley, stated at a briefing that the president is currently not using an oxygen respirator. He said, "He has been without a fever for the past 24 hours" and that there is no difficulty in breathing, presenting a condition contrary to Meadows' statement.

However, when asked whether the president had ever worn an oxygen respirator, Dr. Conley repeatedly answered, "Not at this moment nor when we arrived here yesterday," refusing to disclose specific details.

Meanwhile, based on the physician's remarks, the NYT reported that President Trump may have been diagnosed with a possible virus infection on the 1st, the day before the 2nd. President Trump first publicly announced his positive COVID-19 test result on the 2nd, but the actual diagnosis was made earlier. He attended campaign events on both the 1st and 2nd.

The NYT reported that Dr. Conley said at the briefing, "It has been 72 hours since the diagnosis," which means the positive detection was made on the 1st, not the 2nd. It also introduced another presidential physician, Dr. Brian Garibaldi, who said that President Trump received an experimental antibody treatment 48 hours ago.

President Trump showed vitality through his Twitter on the same day. He tweeted, "The doctors and nurses at Walter Reed Military Hospital are all great," adding, "I feel good."

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