US President Donald Trump, who along with first Lady Milania Trump tested positive for COVID-19 and was quarantined at the White House on Friday, has been given an experimental drug to treat the virus, according to a memo from his doctor.
Trump was taken to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center unannounced early Friday evening "out of an abundance of caution", according to the White House. He will undergo tests and will remain for a few days, according to the memo from Navy Commander Dr Sean Conley.
Because of his age, 74, and obesity, Trump is in two very high-risk groups for developing severe COVID-19.
Vice-President Mike Pence and Trump's Democratic opponent, former Vice-President Joe Biden — who shared a debate stage with Trump on Tuesday — both tested negative.
At a campaign stop in Michigan on Friday, Biden called for unity amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and Trump's diagnosis.
"We can get this pandemic under control so we can get our economy working for everyone," Biden said, speaking to reporters in Grand Rapids, Michigan. "But this cannot be a partisan moment. It must be an American moment."
"President Trump remains in good spirits, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day," White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement. "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."
Trump has a low-grade fever, nasal congestion and a cough, according to two people close to him, The New York Times reported.
Trump was given an antibody cocktail developed by the biotech company Regeneron, according to a memo from his Conley. He is also taking vitamin D, zinc, melatonin, a daily aspirin and famotidine (an antacid better known as Pepcid), the memo said.
There are no approved treatments for COV ID-19, but the Regeneron treatment is one of the most promising candidates, along with another antibody treatment developed by Eli Lilly. Both are being tested in patients around the country.
Initial results have suggested that they can reduce the level of the virus in the body and possibly shorten hospital stays when they are given early in the course of infection.
Friday afternoon Trump's physician wrote in a memo that he "remains fatigued but in good spirits".
The memo also said Melania Trump remains well with only a mild cough and headache, and the remainder of the first family is well and have tested negative.
Vice-President Mike Pence, second lady Karen Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have all tested negative. Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel disclosed that she had tested positive.
Trump coming down with the virus means he will be temporarily off the campaign trail as he trails in the polls with barely a month to go before the Nov 3 election.
A fundraiser in Washington and a rally in Florida on Friday night were scrapped. Trump had planned to hold two rallies this weekend in Wisconsin, the White House coronavirus task force placing the state in the "red zone" because of its high rate of infections and recommended maximum social distancing there.
The second presidential debate, now scheduled for Oct 15, is in doubt. The vice-presidential debate is scheduled for next week.
The White House announcement that the president had tested positive resonated around the world quickly, provoking concern about this health, raising questions about his campaign for re-election just 32 days before the election and causing stock markets around the world to tumble at first but then recover.
The president's infection also comes amid his ongoing efforts to declare that the nation has largely moved past the worst threats of the pandemic, which has killed than 207,000 people in the US. Cases remain high or are rising in more than a dozen states. As recently as Thursday night Trump said in a recorded speech: "The end of the pandemic is in sight."
