npr--2020-10-05--Transcript: Doctors Say Trump Will Continue Treatment From White House

Transcript : Doctors Say Trump Will Continue Treatment From White House President Trump 's medical team once again held a briefing outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday for an update on the president 's COVID-19 treatment .
The doctors said that the president is doing well and meets all standard hospital discharge criteria .
Dr. Sean Conley , the White House physician , confirmed a tweet by the president earlier in the day that he was `` feeling really good '' and would be leaving Walter Reed .
The president headed back to the White House just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will continue to receive his five-day course of remdesivir , taking the fifth and final dose at the White House Tuesday evening , doctors said .
Conley declined to answer repeated questions about when the president had his last negative test .
He also refused to giving information about Trump 's lung scans or whether there were signs of pneumonia , citing patient privacy regulations .
Read the transcript of the news conference below .
SEAN CONLEY , WHITE HOUSE PHYSICIAN : Good afternoon , everyone , thank you for being here .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ president has continued to improve .
He 's met or exceeded all standard hospital discharge criteria .
He 'll receive another dose of Remdesivir here today and then we plan to get him home .
It 's been more than 72 hours since his last fever .
Oxygen levels , including ambulatory saturations and his work of breathing are all normal .
Though he may not entirely be out of the woods yet , the team and I agree that all our evaluations and most importantly his clinical status support the president 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be surrounded by world class medical care 24/7 .
I 'd like to bring Dr. Duli up to review some more specifics .
SEAN DOOLEY , PULMONARY CRITICAL CARE DOCTOR : Good afternoon , just a brief update this morning , as Dr. Connelly mentioned , the president uh continues to do very well .
His vital signs this morning were notable for a temperature of 98.1 .
His blood pressure was 134 over 78 , the respiratory rate of 17 respirations per minute .
His heart rate was 68 beats per minute @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % on room air .
He currently does not endorse any respiratory complaints .
And aside from our evaluation with the multidisciplinary team this morning has maintained a full schedule ambulating and working on the White House medical unit .
And I 'll turn it over to Dr. Garibaldi and again discuss therapeutics .
BRIAN GARIBALDI , PULMONARY CRITICAL CARE DOCTOR : Hi , good afternoon .
And again , I just wanted to echo the sentiment of what an honor it is to to be part of this wonderful team here at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ president received his third dose of Remdesivir .
He tolerated that infusion without difficulty and his kidney and liver function continue to be normal .
Our plan is to give the fourth dose of Remdesivir this evening before he goes back to the White House .
And we 've made arrangements to deliver the fifth and final dose of his treatment course at the White House tomorrow evening .
He continues on dexamethasone .
And again , the plan for today is to continue to be up and out of bed , eat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ able .
And I 'd like to turn it over to Dr. Jason Blaylock , who 's an infectious disease specialist and the chief of medicine here at Walter Reed , to give some updates on infection control .
Thank you .
BLAYLOCK : Good afternoon , everyone .
First of all , I just want to say what an honor it 's been to be part of this medical team behind me and to care for the president .
Since the president 's arrival at Walter Reed , he 's received medical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ clinical societal guidelines for treatment of covid-19 infection .
In addition , both myself and Dr. West Campbell have worked very closely with various laboratories in the area , state of the art facilities to include USAMRIID and rare on obtaining advanced diagnostic testing to really inform the White House medical team of both the status of the president as well as his ability to transmit virus to others .
Also , we have worked very closely with the Walter Reed team to ensure that we are looking very closely at infection control @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so that the president can safely return to his residence .
And with that , I 'm going to turn it over to Dr. Conley , who will answer any final questions .
CONLEY : I mentioned it Saturday , but I 'd like to reiterate myself just how grateful the president and I are to the men and women of Walter Reed , our colleagues at Johns Hopkins , as well as the many federal private institutions that we receive support from .
And so long as everything continues on the track @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this time , the president already tweeted out , is to get him home later today .
With that I 'll take a couple of questions .
REPORTER : How can the president be discharged back to the White House when he was given steroids ?
You said that he 's still on those steroids .
Those are medicines , as you know , that are usually given to COVID patients who are on ventilators or , um , with low oxygen .
So did you over-treat him ?
And if he 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it safe for him to return to the White House ?
CONLEY : So we send patients home with medications all the time .
In fact , yesterday afternoon , he probably met most of his discharge requirements safely from the hospital .
And he 's returning to a facility , the White House medical unit that 's staffed 24/7 top notch physicians , nurses , PAs , logisticians and the unit here , the team here behind me is going to continue to support us in that nature .
REPORTER : Dr. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ you taking and how is it safe for him to drive around in a cloth mask yesterday ?
And how is it safe for him now to return to the White House where there have been so many cases ?
How is any of this safe ?
CONLEY : So the the president has been surrounded by medical and security staff for days wearing full PPE .
Um , and yesterday , uh , the U.S. Secret Service agents were in that same level of PPE for a very short period of time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disease experts , uh , to make some recommendations for how to keep everything safe down at the White House , for the president and those around him .
Um , we 're looking at where he 's going to be able to , uh , carry out his duties , uh , you know , office space .
And , um , and I 'll just say that it 's in line with everything we 've been doing upstairs , uh , for the the last several days .
REPORTER : Can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , can you tell us when he had his last negative test ?
Was it Thursday ?
Was it Wednesday ?
Do you remember when he had his last negative ?
CONLEY : I do n't want to go backwards .
REPORTER : — will help with contact tracing .
For people who were around him to know when he tested positive CONLEY : I understand .
The contact tracing as I understand it is being done .
I 'm not involved with that .
REPORTER : — recommendation that he leave .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
CONLEY : No so we try to get patients home and out of the hospital as quickly as is safe and reasonable .
Every day a patient stays in the hospital unnecessarily is a risk to themselves .
And right now there 's nothing that 's being done upstairs here that we ca n't safely conduct down home .
REPORTER : Now you had said that seven to 10 days was a window that you 'd be concerned about .
I do n't think we 're there yet .
So do you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
And what are your plans for addressing that if it were to happen ?
CONLEY : You 're you 're absolutely right .
And that 's why we all remain cautiously optimistic , um , and on guard , because we 're in a bit of unchartered territory when it comes to a patient that received the therapies he has so early in the course .
So we 're looking to this weekend , if we can get through to Monday with him remaining the same or improving better yet , then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sigh of relief .
But as I said , 24/7 world class medical care surrounding him down there .
We 're not going to miss anything that we would 've caught up here .
REPORTER : He 's physically got to be in the White House .
And what does that look like ?
How do you keep him safely quarantined ?
CONLEY : I wish I could go into that more , but .
But I just ca n't .
REPORTER : Doctor , why did you begin Dexamethasone treatment ?
CONLEY @ @ @ @ @ @ @ — yesterday , we talked about that .
The several little , uh , temporary drops and his oxygen .
And we had discussed that as a team and elected to start it early in case that persisted or worsened the potential risks and side effects .
We all discussed .
We looked at the data and decided that we 'd rather , uh , you know , push ahead on it than hold and risk .
Uh , you know , the opposite , REPORDER : And what about CT scans and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ As far as travel goes , um we 'll see .
REPORTER : Dr. Conley , on his mental status .
Can you talk to about whether he has any neurological symptoms ?
Does he have any side effects from his medications , any fogginess from the virus ?
CONLEY : No , I think you 've seen the videos , and now the tweets and you 'll see him , uh , shortly .
You know , uh , he 's — he 's back .
Yeah .
REPORTER : Have you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any inflammation in his lungs at all ?
CONLEY : So we we 've done routine standard imaging .
Um , I 'm just not at liberty to discuss .
REPORTER : So you 're actively not telling us what those lung scans show , just to be clear .
CONLEY : So there are HIPAA rules and regulations that , uh , restrict me in sharing certain things , uh , for his safety and his own health ... REPORTER : Can you share how many times — you said his oxygen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how many times he was on oxygen ?
You said you 'd check with the nursing staff yesterday .
CONLEY : Yeah , yeah , yes , yeah , so he ...
The two episodes we talked about yesterday and both times , that he received a little bit of oxygen and recovered immediately .
CONLEY : Um , no , it was n't required .
He was n't short of breath .
He was n't looking ill .
It was more of us trying to anticipate needs and see how he responded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ off .
...
He did n't need it for very long at all .
REPORTER : You were on board Air Force One for multiple trips .
Are you at all concerned about your own exposure and exposure to the medical team ?
CONLEY : I am concerned .
But as the CDC says , there are caveats for essential employees that as long as you continue to test negative , you remain symptom free and you keep a mask on when you 're out and about , which we do inside the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ carry on your duties .
REPORTER : ... a patient man .
Has he been itching to get out of here ?
CONLEY : The president has been a phenomenal patient during his stay here .
And he 's he 's been working hand in glove with us and the team .
And today got to the point — he 's holding court with those of us around him , the whole team going over all the specifics , the testing , what the future is .
And we we have been back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what 's reasonable .
And he has never once pushed us to do anything that was beyond safe and reasonable practice that we all first wanted .
REPORTER : Was there anyone on the president 's medical team that who recommended against the president leaving here and going back to the White House today ?
REPORTER : Doctor , the president said , `` Do n't be afraid of COVID . ''
Do you agree with that ?
Should we not be afraid ?
CONLEY : I 'm not going to get into @ @ @ @ @ @ @ You said his heart , liver and kidney function was normal or improving .
Um improving .
Does that mean that there were effects ?
And is it all normal ?
Like , what 's up with that ?
CONLEY : Yeah , ... it 's all normal right now .
I would say he appeared to be a little dehydrated Friday .
...
He was able to just drink and recover from that .
... Everything looks great .
REPORTER : [ unintelligible question ] ... campaigning out in the country ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ we need to do is that there is no evidence of live virus still present that he could possibly transmit to others .
And that 's what the infectious disease experts and some of our partners , military civilian entities , doing some of these advanced diagnostics just to see as soon as we can identify that routinely .
We talk about a 10 day window , CDC guidelines , but we we 're checking him more routinely than just waiting 10 days .
There 's a possibility it 's earlier than that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 's a little bit later .
But we will know as soon as possible and then we will look at him clinically .
How are you feeling ?
How are you doing ?
REPORTER : Why did you decide not to use , administer , hydroxychloroquine to the president during his time here ?
CONLEY : I 'm not going to go into all of our debates about specific medicines and therapies , there are dozens of therapies that we were made aware of that we considered that we discussed and debated and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ existing literature on , um , and this is the regimen we chose .
REPORTER : Is he having some of the muscle aches ?
Has he lost his sense of taste and smell ?
CONLEY : Uh , no , we were just talking about that , what symptoms he has left .
And ... he even the slight cough that he used to have , he does n't really complain of all .
He has n't ever complained of muscle aches .
...
He 's up and back to his old @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be clear , how long will he still be actively shedding the virus ?
CONLEY : So this this morning , I believe there is even an accounting by Dr. Faucci referencing a five day , the first five days of illness that that people are most likely to shed live virus .
There 's a reason there 's the 10 days is because most people by that time , after seven days ... most folks do n't have culturable live virus .
They put it to 10 just to give some extra @ @ @ @ @ @ @ between everybody .
So we 'll see .
I ca n't — I 'm not going to put a specific number , but we we look at that window is all I 'll say .
REPORTER : Will the president be confined to his residence ?
Or will he be allowed to return to the Oval Office ?
CONLEY : We 're going to do whatever it takes for the president to safely conduct business wherever it is he needs to do within the residence and White House .
REPORTER : Is he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has he been using-have you been giving him Tylenol ?
Advil ?
Or anything to bring his fever down ?
CONLEY : Oh , that came up yesterday .
I would like to say he has not been on any fever reducing medications for over 72 hours .
Yeah , he 's on a routine regimen of COVID therapy .
I 'm not going to go into specifics as to what he is and is not on , but .
REPORTER : You said and I 'm going to read this here , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , some nasal congestion and fatigue on Thursday .
Now back to my colleague Jim Jacobs ' question .
The reason — knowing when the president 's last negative test is important for that reason , your words , what you said and also for the contact tracing , but would you recommend it , that given those symptoms , that he go that the president go to that Bedminster fundraiser ?
CONLEY : It 's not up to me necessarily the president 's schedule , but I would say that it was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really sat down , then knowing the news of the day that we really dove into how are you feeling ?
What 's what 's going on ?
REPORTER : — those were the symptoms he was experiencing on Thursday .
CONLEY : I 'm not going to get into ... operations .
REPORTER : Doctor , when was his last negative test and what was his viral load ?
CONLEY : I know everyone wants that .
...
I do n't have his viral load .
Those are some of the diagnostics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ really tell us when it 's safe for him to get back out and around people .
REPORTER : [ unintelligible ] ... any abnormal test ?
Or any of his lab tests abnormal ?
CONLEY : I 'm not , again , a HIPAA kind of precludes me from going into too much depth and things that ...
I 'm not liberty or does n't wish ... to be discussed at some future point , maybe ... but today , sorry .
I think that 's it .
Yeah .
Thank you @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Saxena is an intern with NPR 's Washington Desk .

Transcript: Doctors Say Trump Will Continue Treatment From White House
Enlarge this image toggle caption Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
President Trump's medical team once again held a briefing outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday for an update on the president's COVID-19 treatment.
The doctors said that the president is doing well and meets all standard hospital discharge criteria. Dr. Sean Conley, the White House physician, confirmed a tweet by the president earlier in the day that he was "feeling really good" and would be leaving Walter Reed. The president headed back to the White House just after 6:30 p.m. ET.
Trump will continue to receive his five-day course of remdesivir, taking the fifth and final dose at the White House Tuesday evening, doctors said.
Conley declined to answer repeated questions about when the president had his last negative test. He also refused to giving information about Trump's lung scans or whether there were signs of pneumonia, citing patient privacy regulations.
Read the transcript of the news conference below.
SEAN CONLEY, WHITE HOUSE PHYSICIAN: Good afternoon, everyone, thank you for being here. Over the past 24 hours, the president has continued to improve. He's met or exceeded all standard hospital discharge criteria. He'll receive another dose of Remdesivir here today and then we plan to get him home. It's been more than 72 hours since his last fever.
Oxygen levels, including ambulatory saturations and his work of breathing are all normal. Though he may not entirely be out of the woods yet, the team and I agree that all our evaluations and most importantly his clinical status support the president's safe return home, where he'll be surrounded by world class medical care 24/7. I'd like to bring Dr. Duli up to review some more specifics.
SEAN DOOLEY, PULMONARY CRITICAL CARE DOCTOR: Good afternoon, just a brief update this morning, as Dr. Connelly mentioned, the president uh continues to do very well. His vital signs this morning were notable for a temperature of 98.1. His blood pressure was 134 over 78, the respiratory rate of 17 respirations per minute. His heart rate was 68 beats per minute and his last oxyhemoglobin saturation was 97% on room air.
He currently does not endorse any respiratory complaints. And aside from our evaluation with the multidisciplinary team this morning has maintained a full schedule ambulating and working on the White House medical unit. And I'll turn it over to Dr. Garibaldi and again discuss therapeutics.
BRIAN GARIBALDI, PULMONARY CRITICAL CARE DOCTOR: Hi, good afternoon. And again, I just wanted to echo the sentiment of what an honor it is to to be part of this wonderful team here at Walter Reed.
Yesterday evening, the president received his third dose of Remdesivir. He tolerated that infusion without difficulty and his kidney and liver function continue to be normal. Our plan is to give the fourth dose of Remdesivir this evening before he goes back to the White House. And we've made arrangements to deliver the fifth and final dose of his treatment course at the White House tomorrow evening.
He continues on dexamethasone. And again, the plan for today is to continue to be up and out of bed, eat and drink and work as he is able. And I'd like to turn it over to Dr. Jason Blaylock, who's an infectious disease specialist and the chief of medicine here at Walter Reed, to give some updates on infection control. Thank you.
BLAYLOCK: Good afternoon, everyone. First of all, I just want to say what an honor it's been to be part of this medical team behind me and to care for the president. Since the president's arrival at Walter Reed, he's received medical management that remains in line with national clinical societal guidelines for treatment of covid-19 infection.
In addition, both myself and Dr. West Campbell have worked very closely with various laboratories in the area, state of the art facilities to include USAMRIID and rare on obtaining advanced diagnostic testing to really inform the White House medical team of both the status of the president as well as his ability to transmit virus to others.
Also, we have worked very closely with the Walter Reed team to ensure that we are looking very closely at infection control, prevention strategies and the right posture so that the president can safely return to his residence. And with that, I'm going to turn it over to Dr. Conley, who will answer any final questions.
CONLEY: I mentioned it Saturday, but I'd like to reiterate myself just how grateful the president and I are to the men and women of Walter Reed, our colleagues at Johns Hopkins, as well as the many federal private institutions that we receive support from. And so long as everything continues on the track that we're experiencing right now, this time, the president already tweeted out, is to get him home later today. With that I'll take a couple of questions.
REPORTER: How can the president be discharged back to the White House when he was given steroids? You said that he's still on those steroids. Those are medicines, as you know, that are usually given to COVID patients who are on ventilators or, um, with low oxygen. So did you over-treat him? And if he's still on that medication, how is it safe for him to return to the White House?
CONLEY: So we send patients home with medications all the time. In fact, yesterday afternoon, he probably met most of his discharge requirements safely from the hospital. And he's returning to a facility, the White House medical unit that's staffed 24/7 top notch physicians, nurses, PAs, logisticians and the unit here, the team here behind me is going to continue to support us in that nature.
REPORTER: Dr. Conley, What infection control measures are you taking and how is it safe for him to drive around in a cloth mask yesterday? And how is it safe for him now to return to the White House where there have been so many cases? How is any of this safe?
CONLEY: So the the president has been surrounded by medical and security staff for days wearing full PPE. Um, and yesterday, uh, the U.S. Secret Service agents were in that same level of PPE for a very short period of time.
We've worked with our infectious disease experts, uh, to make some recommendations for how to keep everything safe down at the White House, for the president and those around him.
Um, we're looking at where he's going to be able to, uh, carry out his duties, uh, you know, office space. And, um, and I'll just say that it's in line with everything we've been doing upstairs, uh, for the the last several days.
REPORTER: Can you tell us please, on testing, can you tell us when he had his last negative test? Was it Thursday? Was it Wednesday? Do you remember when he had his last negative?
CONLEY: I don't want to go backwards.
REPORTER: — will help with contact tracing. For people who were around him to know when he tested positive
CONLEY: I understand. The contact tracing as I understand it is being done. I'm not involved with that.
REPORTER: — recommendation that he leave. Or was this something he pushed for?
CONLEY: No so we try to get patients home and out of the hospital as quickly as is safe and reasonable. Every day a patient stays in the hospital unnecessarily is a risk to themselves. And right now there's nothing that's being done upstairs here that we can't safely conduct down home.
REPORTER: Now you had said that seven to 10 days was a window that you'd be concerned about. I don't think we're there yet. So do you have concerns about potential worsening or reversal? And what are your plans for addressing that if it were to happen?
CONLEY: You're you're absolutely right. And that's why we all remain cautiously optimistic, um, and on guard, because we're in a bit of unchartered territory when it comes to a patient that received the therapies he has so early in the course. So we're looking to this weekend, if we can get through to Monday with him remaining the same or improving better yet, then we will all take that final deep sigh of relief. But as I said, 24/7 world class medical care surrounding him down there. We're not going to miss anything that we would've caught up here.
REPORTER: He's physically got to be in the White House. And what does that look like? How do you keep him safely quarantined?
CONLEY: I wish I could go into that more, but. But I just can't.
REPORTER: Doctor, why did you begin Dexamethasone treatment?
CONLEY: So that has something to do — yesterday, we talked about that. The several little, uh, temporary drops and his oxygen. And we had discussed that as a team and elected to start it early in case that persisted or worsened the potential risks and side effects. We all discussed. We looked at the data and decided that we'd rather, uh, you know, push ahead on it than hold and risk. Uh, you know, the opposite,
REPORDER: And what about CT scans and chest-x-rays. ... campaigning?
CONLEY: As far as travel goes, um we'll see.
REPORTER: Dr. Conley, on his mental status. Can you talk to about whether he has any neurological symptoms? Does he have any side effects from his medications, any fogginess from the virus?
CONLEY: No, I think you've seen the videos, and now the tweets and you'll see him, uh, shortly. You know, uh, he's — he's back. Yeah.
REPORTER: Have you seen any evidence of pneumonia? Or any inflammation in his lungs at all?
CONLEY: So we we've done routine standard imaging. Um, I'm just not at liberty to discuss.
REPORTER: So you're actively not telling us what those lung scans show, just to be clear.
CONLEY: So there are HIPAA rules and regulations that, uh, restrict me in sharing certain things, uh, for his safety and his own health ...
REPORTER: Can you share how many times — you said his oxygen dropped several times. Can you share how many times he was on oxygen? You said you'd check with the nursing staff yesterday.
CONLEY: Yeah, yeah, yes, yeah, so he ... The two episodes we talked about yesterday and both times, that he received a little bit of oxygen and recovered immediately.
REPORTER: Was that oxygen required?
CONLEY: Um, no, it wasn't required. He wasn't short of breath. He wasn't looking ill. It was more of us trying to anticipate needs and see how he responded in both cases. He came right off. ... He didn't need it for very long at all.
REPORTER: You were on board Air Force One for multiple trips. Are you at all concerned about your own exposure and exposure to the medical team?
CONLEY: I am concerned. But as the CDC says, there are caveats for essential employees that as long as you continue to test negative, you remain symptom free and you keep a mask on when you're out and about, which we do inside the hospital 24/7, then then you can carry on your duties.
REPORTER: ... a patient man. Has he been itching to get out of here?
CONLEY: The president has been a phenomenal patient during his stay here. And he's he's been working hand in glove with us and the team. And today got to the point — he's holding court with those of us around him, the whole team going over all the specifics, the testing, what the future is. And we we have been back and forth on what's safe and what's reasonable. And he has never once pushed us to do anything that was beyond safe and reasonable practice that we all first wanted.
REPORTER: Was there anyone on the president's medical team that who recommended against the president leaving here and going back to the White House today?
REPORTER: Or any White House staffers?
CONLEY: No.
REPORTER: Doctor, the president said, "Don't be afraid of COVID." Do you agree with that? Should we not be afraid?
CONLEY: I'm not going to get into what the president says.
REPORTER: You said his heart, liver and kidney function was normal or improving. Um improving. Does that mean that there were effects? And is it all normal? Like, what's up with that?
CONLEY: Yeah, ... it's all normal right now. I would say he appeared to be a little dehydrated Friday. ... He was able to just drink and recover from that. ... Everything looks great.
REPORTER: [unintelligible question] ... campaigning out in the country?
CONLEY: The big first thing that we need to do is that there is no evidence of live virus still present that he could possibly transmit to others. And that's what the infectious disease experts and some of our partners, military civilian entities, doing some of these advanced diagnostics just to see as soon as we can identify that routinely. We talk about a 10 day window, CDC guidelines, but we we're checking him more routinely than just waiting 10 days. There's a possibility it's earlier than that. There's a chance that it's a little bit later. But we will know as soon as possible and then we will look at him clinically. How are you feeling? How are you doing?
REPORTER: Why did you decide not to use, administer, hydroxychloroquine to the president during his time here?
CONLEY: I'm not going to go into all of our debates about specific medicines and therapies, there are dozens of therapies that we were made aware of that we considered that we discussed and debated and looked at, you know, the existing literature on, um, and this is the regimen we chose.
REPORTER: Is he having some of the muscle aches? Has he lost his sense of taste and smell?
CONLEY: Uh, no, we were just talking about that, what symptoms he has left. And ... he even the slight cough that he used to have, he doesn't really complain of all. He hasn't ever complained of muscle aches. ... He's up and back to his old self predominantly.
REPORTER: Just to be clear, how long will he still be actively shedding the virus?
CONLEY: So this this morning, I believe there is even an accounting by Dr. Faucci referencing a five day, the first five days of illness that that people are most likely to shed live virus. There's a reason there's the 10 days is because most people by that time, after seven days ... most folks don't have culturable live virus. They put it to 10 just to give some extra space. It's never 100 percent between everybody. So we'll see. I can't — I'm not going to put a specific number, but we we look at that window is all I'll say.
REPORTER: Will the president be confined to his residence? Or will he be allowed to return to the Oval Office?
CONLEY: We're going to do whatever it takes for the president to safely conduct business wherever it is he needs to do within the residence and White House.
REPORTER: Is he on blood thinners? And also, has he been using-have you been giving him Tylenol? Advil? Or anything to bring his fever down?
CONLEY: Oh, that came up yesterday. I would like to say he has not been on any fever reducing medications for over 72 hours. Yeah, he's on a routine regimen of COVID therapy. I'm not going to go into specifics as to what he is and is not on, but.
REPORTER: You said and I'm going to read this here, that the president had a mild cough, some nasal congestion and fatigue on Thursday. Now back to my colleague Jim Jacobs' question. The reason — knowing when the president's last negative test is important for that reason, your words, what you said and also for the contact tracing, but would you recommend it, that given those symptoms, that he go that the president go to that Bedminster fundraiser?
CONLEY: It's not up to me necessarily the president's schedule, but I would say that it wasn't until after he returned that we really sat down, then knowing the news of the day that we really dove into how are you feeling? What's what's going on?
REPORTER: — those were the symptoms he was experiencing on Thursday.
CONLEY: I'm not going to get into ... operations.
REPORTER: Doctor, when was his last negative test and what was his viral load?
CONLEY: I know everyone wants that. ... I don't have his viral load. Those are some of the diagnostics that we're sending out that will really tell us when it's safe for him to get back out and around people.
REPORTER: [unintelligible] ... any abnormal test? Or any of his lab tests abnormal?
CONLEY: I'm not, again, a HIPAA kind of precludes me from going into too much depth and things that ... I'm not liberty or doesn't wish ... to be discussed at some future point, maybe... but today, sorry. I think that's it. Yeah. Thank you, guys. Thank you.
Kalyani Saxena is an intern with NPR's Washington Desk.


npr--2020-10-05--CDC Acknowledges Coronavirus Can Spread Via Airborne Transmission

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now says the coronavirus can be spread through airborne particles that can linger in the air `` for minutes or even hours '' — even among people who are more than 6 feet apart .
The CDC still says that SARS-COV-2 , the virus that causes COVID-19 , is most frequently spread among people in close contact with one another , through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs , sneezes or talks .
But in new guidance published Monday on its website , the agency also acknowledged that under certain circumstances @ @ @ @ @ @ @ particles that can linger in the air in enclosed spaces that are poorly ventilated .
`` Sometimes the infected person was breathing heavily , for example while singing or exercising , '' the CDC said .
In such cases , the CDC said , there 's evidence that the amount of smaller infectious droplets and particles that a contagious person produces `` became concentrated enough to spread the virus to other people '' – even if they were more than 6 feet away .
In some cases , the CDC said , transmission @ @ @ @ @ @ @ COVID-19 had left '' the room .
Many experts who study the airborne transmission of viruses have been warning that the coronavirus can spread through the air for months .
Last month , many experts cheered when the CDC seemed to address the issue , posting an update that suggested that aerosols – tiny airborne particles expelled from a person 's mouth when they speak , sing , sneeze or breathe — might be among the most common ways the coronavirus is spreading .
But the agency took down that guidance a few @ @ @ @ @ @ @ draft proposal that was posted to its website in error .
The CDC 's latest guidance stops short of calling airborne transmission `` common . ''
`` It 's gratifying to see CDC acknowledge that there 's a role for airborne transmission with this virus , '' said Donald Milton , an aerobiologist at the University of Maryland and coauthor of a letter published in the journal Science on Monday that calls for clearer public health guidance on how the coronavirus spreads through the air .
However , the distinction between the CDC @ @ @ @ @ @ @ often airborne transmission happens .
In a call with reporters Monday , Milton and his cosigners on the Science letter said the evidence suggests that airborne transmission is probably the dominant form of transmission – even in close-contact situations within 6 feet of an infected person .
`` Airborne transmission happens by inhalation of virus that 's in the air , '' said Linsey Marr , a professor of engineering at Virginia Tech and an expert in aerosol science .
`` And this is happening even more frequently when people are close to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this affect how we should protect ourselves in practical terms ?
Marr and other experts said people should be wearing a mask whenever they are indoors with people outside of their household pod – even if they are standing more than 6 feet apart , or even in a situation where a plexiglass barrier is in place .
Marr said masks are also a good idea outdoors if you are going to be in prolonged contact with people not in your household , even if you are more than 6 feet apart .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ I think adopting the precautionary principle is best , '' Marr said .
It also means that `` ventilation really is just so important , '' said Kimberly Prather , an atmospheric chemist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and lead author of the Science letter .
She recommends opening doors and windows , moving gatherings outdoors whenever possible , and the use of standalone air filters in rooms .
( Prather , Marr and other scientists offer more tips in this FAQ on improving ventilation . )
In addition to improving ventilation indoors @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at least 6 feet away from others whenever possible , avoid crowded indoors spaces and – as always – wash their hands regularly .

CDC Acknowledges Coronavirus Can Spread Via Airborne Transmission
Enlarge this image toggle caption VO Images/Getty Images VO Images/Getty Images
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now says the coronavirus can be spread through airborne particles that can linger in the air "for minutes or even hours" — even among people who are more than 6 feet apart.
The CDC still says that SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is most frequently spread among people in close contact with one another, through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks. But in new guidance published Monday on its website, the agency also acknowledged that under certain circumstances, people have become infected by smaller particles that can linger in the air in enclosed spaces that are poorly ventilated.
"Sometimes the infected person was breathing heavily, for example while singing or exercising," the CDC said. In such cases, the CDC said, there's evidence that the amount of smaller infectious droplets and particles that a contagious person produces "became concentrated enough to spread the virus to other people" – even if they were more than 6 feet away. In some cases, the CDC said, transmission occurred "shortly after the person with COVID-19 had left" the room.
For months, many experts who study the airborne transmission of viruses have been warning that the coronavirus can spread through the air. Last month, many experts cheered when the CDC seemed to address the issue, posting an update that suggested that aerosols – tiny airborne particles expelled from a person's mouth when they speak, sing, sneeze or breathe — might be among the most common ways the coronavirus is spreading. But the agency took down that guidance a few days later, saying it was a draft proposal that was posted to its website in error. The CDC's latest guidance stops short of calling airborne transmission "common."
"It's gratifying to see CDC acknowledge that there's a role for airborne transmission with this virus," said Donald Milton, an aerobiologist at the University of Maryland and coauthor of a letter published in the journal Science on Monday that calls for clearer public health guidance on how the coronavirus spreads through the air. However, the distinction between the CDC and Milton and his cosigners is how often airborne transmission happens.
In a call with reporters Monday, Milton and his cosigners on the Science letter said the evidence suggests that airborne transmission is probably the dominant form of transmission – even in close-contact situations within 6 feet of an infected person.
"Airborne transmission happens by inhalation of virus that's in the air," said Linsey Marr, a professor of engineering at Virginia Tech and an expert in aerosol science. "And this is happening even more frequently when people are close to each other."
So how does this affect how we should protect ourselves in practical terms? Marr and other experts said people should be wearing a mask whenever they are indoors with people outside of their household pod – even if they are standing more than 6 feet apart, or even in a situation where a plexiglass barrier is in place. Marr said masks are also a good idea outdoors if you are going to be in prolonged contact with people not in your household, even if you are more than 6 feet apart. "It's a grayish area where I think adopting the precautionary principle is best," Marr said.
It also means that "ventilation really is just so important," said Kimberly Prather, an atmospheric chemist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and lead author of the Science letter. She recommends opening doors and windows, moving gatherings outdoors whenever possible, and the use of standalone air filters in rooms. (Prather, Marr and other scientists offer more tips in this FAQ on improving ventilation.)
In addition to improving ventilation indoors, the CDC said people should stay at least 6 feet away from others whenever possible, avoid crowded indoors spaces and – as always – wash their hands regularly.


npr--2020-10-05--Navy Doctor Part Of A Tradition Of Military Physicians Serving Presidents

Dr. Sean Conley , who 's treating President Trump 's case of COVID-19 , is the latest in a long line of active-duty military officers who have been in charge of treating presidents .
`` Over the past 24 hours , the president has continued to improve , '' Dr. Conley said Monday afternoon at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center , just outside Washington in Bethesda , Md .
`` He 's met or exceeded all standard hospital discharge criteria . ''
However , he added that Trump may not be `` entirely out of the woods yet @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he would be heading back to the White House on Monday evening .
Since the president is the commander-in-chief of the military , this creates the unusual situation where the president is the ultimate boss of the military personnel treating him .
Dr. Conley , 40 , is a commander in the Navy and has been the president 's physician for a little over two years .
Dr. Conley is also the head of the White House Medical Unit , which has a staff of about two dozen , and is in turn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Dr. Conley and members of his staff work out of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building , next to the White House .
They travel with the president and are in position to assist him at any time .
However , when the president receives his annual medical checkup , or needs care for a potentially serious illness , the president heads to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center .
This tradition of a military doctor serving the president dates back well over a century .
A Navy officer , Dr. Presley @ @ @ @ @ @ @ serve full-time as the White House doctor , assuming the role under President William McKinley .
Dr. Rixey was with McKinley and when the president was shot in Buffalo on Sept. 6 , 1901 , and was in charge of his treatment until he died eight days later .

Navy Doctor Part Of A Tradition Of Military Physicians Serving Presidents
Enlarge this image toggle caption Evan Vucci/AP Evan Vucci/AP
Dr. Sean Conley, who's treating President Trump's case of COVID-19, is the latest in a long line of active-duty military officers who have been in charge of treating presidents.
"Over the past 24 hours, the president has continued to improve," Dr. Conley said Monday afternoon at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, just outside Washington in Bethesda, Md. "He's met or exceeded all standard hospital discharge criteria."
However, he added that Trump may not be "entirely out of the woods yet."
The president tweeted earlier that he would be heading back to the White House on Monday evening.
Since the president is the commander-in-chief of the military, this creates the unusual situation where the president is the ultimate boss of the military personnel treating him.
Dr. Conley, 40, is a commander in the Navy and has been the president's physician for a little over two years.
Dr. Conley is also the head of the White House Medical Unit, which has a staff of about two dozen, and is in turn part of the White House Military Office. Dr. Conley and members of his staff work out of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House. They travel with the president and are in position to assist him at any time.
However, when the president receives his annual medical checkup, or needs care for a potentially serious illness, the president heads to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
This tradition of a military doctor serving the president dates back well over a century. A Navy officer, Dr. Presley Rixey, was considered the first to serve full-time as the White House doctor, assuming the role under President William McKinley. Dr. Rixey was with McKinley and when the president was shot in Buffalo on Sept. 6, 1901, and was in charge of his treatment until he died eight days later.


npr--2020-10-05--10% Of Global Population May Have Contracted The Coronavirus, WHO Says

10 % Of Global Population May Have Contracted The Coronavirus , WHO Says About 10 % of the global population may have been infected by the coronavirus , according to a senior World Health Organization official .
It 's an estimate that 's far higher than the total of global confirmed cases reported by governments .
At the same time , it would mean that most of the world 's population is still vulnerable to getting infected and this pandemic is far from over , the WHO 's head of emergencies Dr. Michael Ryan said Monday .
`` This varies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rural , it varies by different groups , '' Ryan said .
`` But what it does mean is that the vast majority of the world remains at risk . ''
The WHO 's executive board is meeting in a special session Monday and Tuesday to review the WHO 's handling of the coronavirus pandemic .
The meeting at the WHO 's headquarters in Geneva and online comes as the world has officially tallied more than 35 million coronavirus cases and more than 1 million fatalities .
The WHO 's Director-General , Tedros @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of deaths from COVID-19 is certainly higher .
`` Numbers can blind us to the reality that every single life lost is someone who loved and was loved by others – someone 's mother , father , sister , brother , daughter or son , '' Tedros said through a mask as he opened the meeting .
`` Although all countries have been affected by this virus , we must remember that this is an uneven pandemic .
Ten countries account for 70 % of all reported cases and deaths , and just @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he added .
Those three countries are the U.S. , India and Brazil .
Tedros and other officials highlighted the WHO 's actions throughout the pandemic , from issuing guidance , to developing the first diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2 , to distributing personal protective equipment in low-income countries and expanding PCR testing labs globally .
Ryan said his agency — and the world — are now heading into a difficult phase of this pandemic .
`` The disease continues to spread , '' he said .
`` It is on the rise in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cases are spiking most dramatically now in India , but many parts of Latin America are still facing rising daily infection rates .
There have been resurgences in several European nations .
And in the United States , the number of new infections remains stubbornly high , with the U.S. regularly recording roughly 40,000 cases per day .
This is more than Ireland has tallied over the past 9 months .
Ryan said the pandemic will continue to evolve .
It may flare up in some places while it wanes in others .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ becomes more intense , or gets under control , is not a matter of chance .
`` We have the tools that work to suppress transmission and save lives right now .
They are at our disposal , '' he said .
`` The future depends on the choices we collectively make about how we use those tools . ''
The WHO is also working to develop new tools to combat COVID-19 .
It 's helping to test several vaccine candidates and developing plans for how to distribute a vaccine equitably once one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on new drugs to treat the disease and new tests to detect it .
In his presentation to the executive board , Ryan noted that those efforts are currently woefully underfunded .
He said the WHO needs $ 14 billion immediately and more down the road to fund what it calls its ACT Accelerator program ( Access to COVID-19 Tools or ACT ) to develop new pharmaceutics to fight against COVID-19 .
Representatives from 34 countries are on the executive board of the WHO .
Even though the Trump Administration declared that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. still has a spot on the board .
Prior to the meeting , it was unclear whether the U.S. would send a delegation .
The U.S. is participating , although remotely .
Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir is leading what his office described as a `` small delegation from the United States . ''
They 're all attending virtually .
`` While the U.S. government prepares for U.S. withdrawal from the WHO , '' Giroir said in a statement , `` the United States will in the interim continue to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and advocate for a WHO that is independent , impartial and transparent in all of its operations and activities . ''

10% Of Global Population May Have Contracted The Coronavirus, WHO Says
Enlarge this image toggle caption Christopher Black/AP Christopher Black/AP
About 10% of the global population may have been infected by the coronavirus, according to a senior World Health Organization official.
It's an estimate that's far higher than the total of global confirmed cases reported by governments. At the same time, it would mean that most of the world's population is still vulnerable to getting infected and this pandemic is far from over, the WHO's head of emergencies Dr. Michael Ryan said Monday.
"This varies by country, it varies urban to rural, it varies by different groups," Ryan said. "But what it does mean is that the vast majority of the world remains at risk."
The WHO's executive board is meeting in a special session Monday and Tuesday to review the WHO's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
The meeting at the WHO's headquarters in Geneva and online comes as the world has officially tallied more than 35 million coronavirus cases and more than 1 million fatalities.
The WHO's Director-General, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the actual number of deaths from COVID-19 is certainly higher. "Numbers can blind us to the reality that every single life lost is someone who loved and was loved by others – someone's mother, father, sister, brother, daughter or son," Tedros said through a mask as he opened the meeting.
"Although all countries have been affected by this virus, we must remember that this is an uneven pandemic. Ten countries account for 70% of all reported cases and deaths, and just 3 countries account for half," he added. Those three countries are the U.S., India and Brazil.
Tedros and other officials highlighted the WHO's actions throughout the pandemic, from issuing guidance, to developing the first diagnostic test for SARS-CoV-2, to distributing personal protective equipment in low-income countries and expanding PCR testing labs globally.
Ryan said his agency — and the world — are now heading into a difficult phase of this pandemic.
"The disease continues to spread," he said. "It is on the rise in many parts of the world."
Cases are spiking most dramatically now in India, but many parts of Latin America are still facing rising daily infection rates. There have been resurgences in several European nations. And in the United States, the number of new infections remains stubbornly high, with the U.S. regularly recording roughly 40,000 cases per day. This is more than Ireland has tallied over the past 9 months.
Ryan said the pandemic will continue to evolve. It may flare up in some places while it wanes in others. But he added that where the pandemic becomes more intense, or gets under control, is not a matter of chance.
"We have the tools that work to suppress transmission and save lives right now. They are at our disposal," he said. "The future depends on the choices we collectively make about how we use those tools."
The WHO is also working to develop new tools to combat COVID-19.
It's helping to test several vaccine candidates and developing plans for how to distribute a vaccine equitably once one is finally approved. It's working on new drugs to treat the disease and new tests to detect it.
In his presentation to the executive board, Ryan noted that those efforts are currently woefully underfunded. He said the WHO needs $14 billion immediately and more down the road to fund what it calls its ACT Accelerator program (Access to COVID-19 Tools or ACT) to develop new pharmaceutics to fight against COVID-19.
Representatives from 34 countries are on the executive board of the WHO. Even though the Trump Administration declared that the United States is leaving the WHO, the U.S. still has a spot on the board.
Prior to the meeting, it was unclear whether the U.S. would send a delegation. The U.S. is participating, although remotely. Assistant Secretary for Health Brett Giroir is leading what his office described as a "small delegation from the United States." They're all attending virtually.
"While the U.S. government prepares for U.S. withdrawal from the WHO," Giroir said in a statement, "the United States will in the interim continue to contribute to the WHO to strengthen discussions and advocate for a WHO that is independent, impartial and transparent in all of its operations and activities."


npr--2020-10-05--Timeline: What We Know Of President Trump's COVID-19 Diagnosis, Treatment

Timeline : What We Know Of President Trump 's COVID-19 Diagnosis , Treatment Updated at 7:30 p.m .
ET on Monday President Trump is hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center as he faces COVID-19 .
Trump announced early Friday morning that he and the first lady had tested positive for the coronavirus , and he was taken to Walter Reed Friday evening .
The rest of the timeline , as laid out by White House officials and Trump 's physician , Sean Conley , has at times been unclear .
Here 's what we know about what happened @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the White House Rose Garden to announce his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court , Amy Coney Barrett .
Guests , many without masks , packed into the outdoor space , and some were also photographed together indoors .
( The White House has coronavirus testing protocols for guests and members of the press . )
At least eight people who attended the ceremony , including the president and the first lady , have since tested positive for the coronavirus .
Later that night , Trump flew to Pennsylvania for an outdoor rally @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Cleveland .
Members of the Trump family and other guests of the president did not wear masks in the debate venue , despite being asked to by Cleveland Clinic staff .
Debate moderator Chris Wallace said on Fox on Friday that Trump was n't tested before attending the debate because he arrived late .
Instead , organizers relied on the honor system , he said .
Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his group at the debate have all tested negative so far .
Trump flew to Minnesota for a fundraiser and an outdoor @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump 's closest aides , reportedly started to feel unwell and tried to isolate on the Air Force One ride back to Washington .
That afternoon , Trump flew to New Jersey for an indoor fundraiser at which few people wore masks .
That night , Bloomberg News reported that Hicks had been confirmed positive for the coronavirus .
In a phone interview on Fox News shortly after , Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump had been tested and were awaiting the results .
Doctors have said Trump had a fever @ @ @ @ @ @ @ did n't say how high it was .
Shortly after 1 a.m. , Trump tweeted that he and his wife had tested positive for the coronavirus .
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told Fox News Trump had announced his coronavirus test result within an hour of receiving it .
On Friday morning , Mark Meadows , the White House chief of staff , told reporters that Trump had `` mild symptoms . ''
That morning , Melania Trump tweeted that she had mild symptoms , but overall was feeling good .
That @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the White House announced that the president had received a dose of Regeneron , the experimental drug cocktail that has shown promising results improving coronavirus symptoms .
Conley wrote that Trump was `` fatigued but in good spirits . ''
After 6 p.m .
ET , Trump left the White House via helicopter for Walter Reed .
The president tweeted a video of himself recorded earlier in the White House thanking supporters for their well wishes .
He gave a thumbs-up to reporters as he walked to Marine One .
Throughout the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the president 's orbit , including Republican members of the U.S. Senate , disclosed positive test results .
Just before midnight , the president 's physician released a letter saying Trump had started his first dose of remdesivir therapy .
Doctors later said Trump had a fever Friday morning but not the rest of the day , and that he received supplemental oxygen early Friday .
Conley and doctors at Walter Reed briefed the press Saturday morning .
Conley said that he was `` extremely happy '' with the progress being made @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cough were improving .
He said Trump had been fever free for 24 hours .
However , a White House official then took a less rosy tone , telling pool reporters that `` 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 . ''
The Associated Press identified that information as coming from Meadows .
At the Saturday news conference , Conley was evasive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and , as previously noted , offered a timeline that he later had to walk back .
( Trump was diagnosed and began receiving treatment Thursday night , the White House says . )
Trump fired off a tweet not too long after , saying he was `` feeling well . ''
The White House said Friday that Trump would be at Walter Reed for a `` few days . ''
On Saturday , doctors said that they were evaluating his condition each day and that if he needs the full five-day course @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Walter Reed to receive it .
Meadows told Fox 's Jeanine Pirro Saturday evening that concerns over whether Trump would be able to fulfil his duties after contracting the virus were `` irrational . ''
Meadows added that on Friday morning , `` A number of us , the doctor and I , were very concerned . ''
That 's a markedly different picture from the one Meadows painted Friday morning , when he told reporters that the president was showing `` mild symptoms . ''
Conley and doctors at Walter Reed briefed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump experienced two drops in his oxygen levels : once on Friday and again Saturday .
Conley said Trump had a high fever and saw his oxygen levels fall while at the White House on Friday morning ahead of being moved to Walter Reed .
The medical team detailed the president 's treatment plan , which includes the steroid dexamethasone , of which Trump received the first dose on Saturday , along with a five-day treatment course of remdesivir .
`` If he continues to look and feel as well as he does @ @ @ @ @ @ @ plan for a discharge as early as tomorrow to the White House where he can continue his treatment course , '' Dr. Brian Garibaldi said .
Conley addressed the conflicting comments between him and Meadows on Saturday , saying the chief of staff 's statement was `` misconstrued . ''
`` What he meant was that 24 hours ago , when he and I were checking on the president , that there was that momentary episode of the high fever and that temporary drop in the saturation , which prompted us to act @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Conley said .
When asked why he was reluctant during Saturday 's briefing to disclose that Trump had been administered oxygen , Conley said he was trying to `` reflect the upbeat attitude '' of the medical team and the president .
`` I did n't want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction , '' he said .
`` And in doing so , you know , it came off that we were trying to hide something , which was n't necessarily true .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ is that [ Trump 's ] doing really well . ''
Sunday evening , press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters that Trump 's first positive test for the coronavirus was received after he returned from the Thursday trip to Bedminster , N.J. She would not comment on whether he was tested before the presidential debate in Cleveland on Tuesday , on Wednesday night or on Thursday morning .
`` I 'm not going to give you a detailed readout with timestamps of every time the president is tested .
He is tested regularly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ received was after his return from Bedminster , '' McEnany said .
President Trump tweeted Monday afternoon that he will leave Walter Reed at 6:30p.m .
His doctors confirmed in a briefing to the press that the president would be discharged from the facility and complete his treatment regimen at the White House .
Dr. Conley said that while Trump may not be `` entirely out of the woods yet , '' he believes he is ready to get his care at the White House .
`` He 's returning to a facility @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that 's staffed 24/7 : top notch physicians , nurses , PAs , logisticians , and the unit here ... is going to continue to support us in that nature . ''
Dr. Garibaldi said the medical team had made plans for Trump to receive the fifth and final dose of remdesivir at the White House Tuesday night .
Conley said Trump had not been on any fever reducing medications for more than 72 hours and that his breathing is normal .
He declined again to go into detail regarding the president 's @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and refused to say when Trump 's last negative coronavirus test was , saying , `` I do n't want to go backwards . ''
He also would not comment on Trump 's tweet , which instructed people not to be afraid of the coronavirus , a striking statement as the American death toll climbs past 209,000 .
Trump departed Walter Reed around 6:40p.m .
Monday evening , almost exactly 72 hours after he first arrived as a patient .
Wearing a white mask , he paused on the steps and pumped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he returned to the White House , he walked up the staircase of the South Portico entrance , removed his mask , gave reporters a thumbs-up and saluted Marine One .
This post was originally published on Oct. 3 .

Timeline: What We Know Of President Trump's COVID-19 Diagnosis, Treatment
Enlarge this image toggle caption Alex Brandon/AP Alex Brandon/AP
Updated at 7:30 p.m. ET on Monday
President Trump is hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center as he faces COVID-19.
Trump announced early Friday morning that he and the first lady had tested positive for the coronavirus, and he was taken to Walter Reed Friday evening.
The rest of the timeline, as laid out by White House officials and Trump's physician, Sean Conley, has at times been unclear. Here's what we know about what happened when:
Saturday, Sept. 26
Trump hosted a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden to announce his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court, Amy Coney Barrett. Guests, many without masks, packed into the outdoor space, and some were also photographed together indoors. (The White House has coronavirus testing protocols for guests and members of the press.)
At least eight people who attended the ceremony, including the president and the first lady, have since tested positive for the coronavirus.
Later that night, Trump flew to Pennsylvania for an outdoor rally.
Tuesday
Trump attended the presidential debate in Cleveland. Members of the Trump family and other guests of the president did not wear masks in the debate venue, despite being asked to by Cleveland Clinic staff.
Debate moderator Chris Wallace said on Fox on Friday that Trump wasn't tested before attending the debate because he arrived late. Instead, organizers relied on the honor system, he said.
Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his group at the debate have all tested negative so far.
Wednesday
Enlarge this image toggle caption Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
Trump flew to Minnesota for a fundraiser and an outdoor rally.
Hope Hicks, one of Trump's closest aides, reportedly started to feel unwell and tried to isolate on the Air Force One ride back to Washington.
(On Saturday, White House physician Conley said it had been 72 hours since the president's diagnosis — which would mean midday on Wednesday. Conley later said he had made a mistake, that he meant to say Saturday had been Day 3 of the diagnosis.)
Thursday
Hicks reportedly received a positive coronavirus test on Thursday.
That afternoon, Trump flew to New Jersey for an indoor fundraiser at which few people wore masks.
(At Saturday's press conference, Dr. Brian Garibaldi said the president began an experimental antibody therapy "about 48 hours ago." That would place the beginning of that treatment at midday on Thursday. Conley has also walked that time reference back, saying Regeneron was administered late Thursday.)
That night, Bloomberg News reported that Hicks had been confirmed positive for the coronavirus. In a phone interview on Fox News shortly after, Trump said he and first lady Melania Trump had been tested and were awaiting the results.
Doctors have said Trump had a fever "Thursday into Friday," but didn't say how high it was.
Friday
Shortly after 1 a.m., Trump tweeted that he and his wife had tested positive for the coronavirus. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told Fox News Trump had announced his coronavirus test result within an hour of receiving it.
On Friday morning, Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, told reporters that Trump had "mild symptoms."
That morning, Melania Trump tweeted that she had mild symptoms, but overall was feeling good.
That afternoon, around 4 p.m. ET, the White House announced that the president had received a dose of Regeneron, the experimental drug cocktail that has shown promising results improving coronavirus symptoms.
Conley wrote that Trump was "fatigued but in good spirits."
After 6 p.m. ET, Trump left the White House via helicopter for Walter Reed. The president tweeted a video of himself recorded earlier in the White House thanking supporters for their well wishes. He gave a thumbs-up to reporters as he walked to Marine One.
Throughout the day, additional people who had been in the president's orbit, including Republican members of the U.S. Senate, disclosed positive test results.
Just before midnight, the president's physician released a letter saying Trump had started his first dose of remdesivir therapy.
Doctors later said Trump had a fever Friday morning but not the rest of the day, and that he received supplemental oxygen early Friday.
Saturday
Enlarge this image toggle caption Susan Walsh/AP Susan Walsh/AP
Conley and doctors at Walter Reed briefed the press Saturday morning. Conley said that he was "extremely happy" with the progress being made and that Trump's fatigue and mild cough were improving. He said Trump had been fever free for 24 hours.
However, a White House official then took a less rosy tone, telling pool reporters that "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."
The Associated Press identified that information as coming from Meadows.
At the Saturday news conference, Conley was evasive on whether Trump had received supplemental oxygen and, as previously noted, offered a timeline that he later had to walk back. (Trump was diagnosed and began receiving treatment Thursday night, the White House says.)
Trump fired off a tweet not too long after, saying he was "feeling well."
The White House said Friday that Trump would be at Walter Reed for a "few days." On Saturday, doctors said that they were evaluating his condition each day and that if he needs the full five-day course of remdesivir, he would stay at Walter Reed to receive it.
Meadows told Fox's Jeanine Pirro Saturday evening that concerns over whether Trump would be able to fulfil his duties after contracting the virus were "irrational."
Meadows added that on Friday morning, "A number of us, the doctor and I, were very concerned."
That's a markedly different picture from the one Meadows painted Friday morning, when he told reporters that the president was showing "mild symptoms."
Sunday
Conley and doctors at Walter Reed briefed the press Sunday morning, sharing that Trump experienced two drops in his oxygen levels: once on Friday and again Saturday.
Conley said Trump had a high fever and saw his oxygen levels fall while at the White House on Friday morning ahead of being moved to Walter Reed.
The medical team detailed the president's treatment plan, which includes the steroid dexamethasone, of which Trump received the first dose on Saturday, along with a five-day treatment course of remdesivir.
"If he continues to look and feel as well as he does today our hope is that we can plan for a discharge as early as tomorrow to the White House where he can continue his treatment course," Dr. Brian Garibaldi said.
Conley addressed the conflicting comments between him and Meadows on Saturday, saying the chief of staff's statement was "misconstrued."
"What he meant was that 24 hours ago, when he and I were checking on the president, that there was that momentary episode of the high fever and that temporary drop in the saturation, which prompted us to act expediently to move him up here," Conley said.
When asked why he was reluctant during Saturday's briefing to disclose that Trump had been administered oxygen, Conley said he was trying to "reflect the upbeat attitude" of the medical team and the president.
"I didn't want to give any information that might steer the course of illness in another direction," he said. "And in doing so, you know, it came off that we were trying to hide something, which wasn't necessarily true. The fact of the matter is, is that [Trump's] doing really well."
Sunday evening, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters that Trump's first positive test for the coronavirus was received after he returned from the Thursday trip to Bedminster, N.J.
She would not comment on whether he was tested before the presidential debate in Cleveland on Tuesday, on Wednesday night or on Thursday morning.
"I'm not going to give you a detailed readout with timestamps of every time the president is tested. He is tested regularly, and the first positive test he received was after his return from Bedminster," McEnany said.
Monday
President Trump tweeted Monday afternoon that he will leave Walter Reed at 6:30p.m. His doctors confirmed in a briefing to the press that the president would be discharged from the facility and complete his treatment regimen at the White House.
Dr. Conley said that while Trump may not be "entirely out of the woods yet," he believes he is ready to get his care at the White House.
"He's returning to a facility, the White House medical unit, that's staffed 24/7: top notch physicians, nurses, PAs, logisticians, and the unit here...is going to continue to support us in that nature."
Dr. Garibaldi said the medical team had made plans for Trump to receive the fifth and final dose of remdesivir at the White House Tuesday night.
Conley said Trump had not been on any fever reducing medications for more than 72 hours and that his breathing is normal.
He declined again to go into detail regarding the president's lung scans, citing patient privacy regulations, and refused to say when Trump's last negative coronavirus test was, saying, "I don't want to go backwards."
He also would not comment on Trump's tweet, which instructed people not to be afraid of the coronavirus, a striking statement as the American death toll climbs past 209,000.
Trump departed Walter Reed around 6:40p.m. Monday evening, almost exactly 72 hours after he first arrived as a patient.
Wearing a white mask, he paused on the steps and pumped his fist in the air. When he returned to the White House, he walked up the staircase of the South Portico entrance, removed his mask, gave reporters a thumbs-up and saluted Marine One.
This post was originally published on Oct. 3.


npr--2020-10-05--Americans Are Drinking 14% More Often During Pandemic, Study Finds

Americans Are Drinking 14 % More Often During Pandemic , Study Finds Perhaps it 's no surprise , but people are drinking more during the pandemic .
In some cases , by a lot .
American adults say they 're drinking 14 % more often during the coronavirus pandemic , according to a report in the journal JAMA Network Open .
The increase in frequency of drinking for women was more pronounced , up 17 % compared to last year .
Instances of heavy drinking among women , which for women was defined as four or more drinks within a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ % .
The study 's participants were aged 30 to 80 , so the report does not offer insight on the pandemic drinking habits of younger adults .
The study took a sample of 1,540 adults and compared their self-reported drinking habits this spring with a year prior .
A quick look at social media suggests many people are using alcohol as a way to relax .
Whether it 's `` quarantinis '' or Zoom happy hours , Americans seem to find a plethora of reasons to drink during the pandemic .
And @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , retail alcohol sales went up .
Stores sold 54 % more alcohol in late March compared the year prior , according to Nielsen .
Online sales more than doubled .
Some states like New York , Florida and Texas relaxed laws during the pandemic to allow expanded alcohol delivery .
The study used data collected using the RAND Corporation American Life Panel .
The authors note a limitation of the study : its findings are based on self-reported data that could be skewed due to societal expectations .
Nonetheless , they concluded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ use and its psychological and physical effects during the pandemic .
Earlier this year , the World Health Organization European office warned against excessive drinking and even said access should be limited during the pandemic .
Drinking may be even more dangerous now as it can negatively affect the body 's immune system , according to the WHO warning .
`` Alcohol compromises the body 's immune system and increases the risk of adverse health outcomes , '' the WHO stated .
`` Therefore , people should minimize their alcohol consumption at any @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pandemic . ''

Americans Are Drinking 14% More Often During Pandemic, Study Finds
Enlarge this image toggle caption Luca Bruno/AP Luca Bruno/AP
Perhaps it's no surprise, but people are drinking more during the pandemic.
In some cases, by a lot.
American adults say they're drinking 14% more often during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report in the journal JAMA Network Open. The increase in frequency of drinking for women was more pronounced, up 17% compared to last year.
Instances of heavy drinking among women, which for women was defined as four or more drinks within a couple of hours, spiked by 41%.
The study's participants were aged 30 to 80, so the report does not offer insight on the pandemic drinking habits of younger adults.
The study took a sample of 1,540 adults and compared their self-reported drinking habits this spring with a year prior.
A quick look at social media suggests many people are using alcohol as a way to relax. Whether it's "quarantinis" or Zoom happy hours, Americans seem to find a plethora of reasons to drink during the pandemic.
And as people began going to bars less, retail alcohol sales went up.
Stores sold 54% more alcohol in late March compared the year prior, according to Nielsen. Online sales more than doubled.
Some states like New York, Florida and Texas relaxed laws during the pandemic to allow expanded alcohol delivery.
The study used data collected using the RAND Corporation American Life Panel. The authors note a limitation of the study: its findings are based on self-reported data that could be skewed due to societal expectations. Nonetheless, they concluded more research could be warranted on alcohol use and its psychological and physical effects during the pandemic.
Earlier this year, the World Health Organization European office warned against excessive drinking and even said access should be limited during the pandemic.
Drinking may be even more dangerous now as it can negatively affect the body's immune system, according to the WHO warning.
"Alcohol compromises the body's immune system and increases the risk of adverse health outcomes," the WHO stated. "Therefore, people should minimize their alcohol consumption at any time, and particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic."
Reese Oxner is an intern on NPR's News Desk.


npr--2020-10-05--Justices Thomas, Alito Blast Supreme Court Decision On Same-Sex Marriage Rights

Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito issued a broadside against the high court 's 2015 same-sex marriage decision on Monday when the court declined to hear a case brought by a former Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue a marriage license for such couples .
The two justices agreed with the decision not to hear the case but used the occasion to take a legal baseball bat to the court 's 2015 decision Obergefell v. Hodges , which declared that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry under the 14th Amendment guarantee to equal protection of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Alito , Thomas said that the court 's decision `` enables courts and governments to brand religious adherents who believe that marriage is between one man and one woman as bigots , making their religious liberty concerns that much easier to dismiss . ''
His words came in a case brought by Kim Davis , a former county clerk in Kentucky , who in the aftermath of the same-sex marriage decision refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and was sued .
`` Davis may have been one of the first victims @ @ @ @ @ @ @ religion in its Obergefell decision , '' Thomas and Alito wrote .
But they agreed that the court properly decided not to take up Davis ' case because , they said , it does not `` cleanly '' present the issues in the court 's 5-4 decision five years ago .
Nevertheless , they said , the case `` provides a stark reminder '' of the consequences of the same-sex marriage decision .
By choosing to endorse `` a novel constitutional right over the religious liberty interests explicitly protected in the First Amendment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the court has created a problem that only it can fix , '' they said .
`` Until then , Obergefell will continue to have ruinous consequences for religious liberty . ''
The fact that Thomas and Alito chose this moment to issue their blast provoked dismay in the LGBT community and elsewhere .
`` It is alarming that there are justices on the Supreme Court who want to overrule Obergefell , which is a precedent the court has reaffirmed , and which hundreds of thousands of couples have relied to seal their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Law School professor William Eskridge , co-author of Marriage Equality : From Outlaws to In-laws .
Chief Justice John Roberts , who also dissented in the 2015 decision along with Thomas , Alito and the late Justice Antonin Scalia , did not sign on to the Thomas-Alito statement in the case .
Nor did Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh .
But Amy Coney Barrett , Trump 's nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg , has indicated her disagreement with the 2015 decision .
And Roberts , Gorsuch , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ supporters of robust religious rights , de-emphasizing the concept of separation between church and state , and emphasizing the importance of the free exercise of religion .
In November , the justices are scheduled to hear a major test of laws that apply generally and neutrally across the board .
At issue is Philadelphia 's decision to terminate a contract with Catholic Social Services for screening and certifying parents for foster care .
The city terminated the contract because Catholic Social Services , citing its religious objections , refused to certify qualified same-sex @ @

Justices Thomas, Alito Blast Supreme Court Decision On Same-Sex Marriage Rights
Enlarge this image J. Scott Applewhite/AP J. Scott Applewhite/AP
Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito issued a broadside against the high court's 2015 same-sex marriage decision on Monday when the court declined to hear a case brought by a former Kentucky county clerk who refused to issue a marriage license for such couples.
The two justices agreed with the decision not to hear the case but used the occasion to take a legal baseball bat to the court's 2015 decision Obergefell v. Hodges, which declared that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry under the 14th Amendment guarantee to equal protection of the law.
Writing for himself and Alito, Thomas said that the court's decision "enables courts and governments to brand religious adherents who believe that marriage is between one man and one woman as bigots, making their religious liberty concerns that much easier to dismiss."
His words came in a case brought by Kim Davis, a former county clerk in Kentucky, who in the aftermath of the same-sex marriage decision refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and was sued.
"Davis may have been one of the first victims of this court's cavalier treatment of religion in its Obergefell decision," Thomas and Alito wrote. But they agreed that the court properly decided not to take up Davis' case because, they said, it does not "cleanly" present the issues in the court's 5-4 decision five years ago.
Nevertheless, they said, the case "provides a stark reminder" of the consequences of the same-sex marriage decision. By choosing to endorse "a novel constitutional right over the religious liberty interests explicitly protected in the First Amendment, and by doing so undemocratically, the court has created a problem that only it can fix," they said. "Until then, Obergefell will continue to have ruinous consequences for religious liberty."
The fact that Thomas and Alito chose this moment to issue their blast provoked dismay in the LGBT community and elsewhere.
"It is alarming that there are justices on the Supreme Court who want to overrule Obergefell, which is a precedent the court has reaffirmed, and which hundreds of thousands of couples have relied to seal their unions in matrimony," said Yale Law School professor William Eskridge, co-author of Marriage Equality: From Outlaws to In-laws.
Chief Justice John Roberts, who also dissented in the 2015 decision along with Thomas, Alito and the late Justice Antonin Scalia, did not sign on to the Thomas-Alito statement in the case. Nor did Trump appointees Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. But Amy Coney Barrett, Trump's nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, has indicated her disagreement with the 2015 decision. And Roberts, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett have all been staunch supporters of robust religious rights, de-emphasizing the concept of separation between church and state, and emphasizing the importance of the free exercise of religion.
In November, the justices are scheduled to hear a major test of laws that apply generally and neutrally across the board. At issue is Philadelphia's decision to terminate a contract with Catholic Social Services for screening and certifying parents for foster care. The city terminated the contract because Catholic Social Services, citing its religious objections, refused to certify qualified same-sex couples.


npr--2020-10-05--Supreme Court Declines To Hear Led Zeppelin

The Supreme Court has declined to hear a case alleging that the band Led Zeppelin plagiarized the opening of one of its signature songs , `` Stairway to Heaven . ''
This upholds a previous March ruling that landed in favor of Zeppelin , and possibly ends a legal battle that has gone on since 2014 .
The original suit was filed by Michael Skidmore , a trustee for Randy Craig Wolfe — whose stage name was Randy California — the late guitarist and songwriter for the band Spirit .
It released the instrumental , `` Taurus , '' in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debut album - more than three years before Led Zeppelin released `` Stairway '' on its fourth album .
In 2016 , a jury ruled in favor of Led Zeppelin .
The case was revived and brought to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals , which again ruled in favor of Zeppelin this year .
Francis Malofiy , the lawyer representing Wolfe 's estate , told NPR at the time that Led Zeppelin won `` on a technicality , '' as the court focused on the written score submitted to the U.S .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ jury to hear the recordings of the songs .
`` And I think that 's very disheartening for the creatives , and it 's a big win for the multibillion-dollar music industry , '' he said .
This is a case that 's being watched closely by people in the music industry .
Ever since a 2015 jury found Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams liable for copyright infringement over their song `` Blurred Lines , '' there have been a number of copyright infringement suits against such high-profile stars as Katy Perry , @ @ @ @ @ @ @

Supreme Court Declines To Hear Led Zeppelin
Enlarge this image toggle caption Hulton Archive/Getty Images Hulton Archive/Getty Images
The Supreme Court has declined to hear a case alleging that the band Led Zeppelin plagiarized the opening of one of its signature songs, "Stairway to Heaven." This upholds a previous March ruling that landed in favor of Zeppelin, and possibly ends a legal battle that has gone on since 2014.
The original suit was filed by Michael Skidmore, a trustee for Randy Craig Wolfe — whose stage name was Randy California — the late guitarist and songwriter for the band Spirit. It released the instrumental, "Taurus," in January, 1968, on its self-titled debut album - more than three years before Led Zeppelin released "Stairway" on its fourth album.
In 2016, a jury ruled in favor of Led Zeppelin. The case was revived and brought to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which again ruled in favor of Zeppelin this year. Francis Malofiy, the lawyer representing Wolfe's estate, told NPR at the time that Led Zeppelin won "on a technicality," as the court focused on the written score submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office, instead of allowing the jury to hear the recordings of the songs.
"And I think that's very disheartening for the creatives, and it's a big win for the multibillion-dollar music industry," he said.
This is a case that's being watched closely by people in the music industry. Ever since a 2015 jury found Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams liable for copyright infringement over their song "Blurred Lines," there have been a number of copyright infringement suits against such high-profile stars as Katy Perry, Justin Beiber, and Ed Sheeran.


npr--2020-10-05--Leaving Walter Reed, Trump Urges Americans Not To Let Coronavirus 'Dominate You'

Leaving Walter Reed , Trump Urges Americans Not To Let Coronavirus 'Dominate You' President Trump walked out of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday evening , planning on receiving the remainder of his treatment for COVID-19 at the White House .
He was seen pumping his fist in the air on the way out of the building and did n't respond to any questions from the press .
Upon arriving back at the White House , Trump walked up the staircase of the South Portico entrance , removed his mask , gave reporters standing below a thumbs-up and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , he tweeted a video telling Americans to not be afraid of the coronavirus .
`` One thing that 's for certain : do n't let it dominate you .
Do n't be afraid of it .
You 're going to beat it , '' he said .
`` We have the best medical equipment , we have the best medicines – all developed recently . ''
Trump said he `` did n't feel so good '' when he got the virus but `` felt great '' two days ago , `` better @ @ @ @ @ @ @ . ''
`` And now I 'm better — and maybe I 'm immune , I do n't know , '' Trump said .
Earlier Monday , Trump tweeted his plans to leave the facility .
His doctors later reiterated it was safe for him to return to the White House but that his treatment regimen is ongoing .
Meanwhile , a number of Trump 's associates at the White House and with the campaign have also tested positive for the coronavirus .
Yet Trump sounded particularly optimistic in his tweet announcing his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ !
Do n't be afraid of Covid .
Do n't let it dominate your life .
We have developed , under the Trump Administration , some really great drugs & knowledge .
I feel better than I did 20 years ago ! ''
Trump wrote .
His medical team briefed the press on his health status Monday afternoon and confirmed the president would be returning to the White House .
Sean Conley , Trump 's physician , said although Trump may not be `` entirely out of the woods yet , '' he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ care at the White House .
`` We 're in a bit of uncharted territory when it comes to a patient that received the therapies he has so early in the course , '' Conley said .
`` If we can get through to Monday with him remaining the same or improving , better yet , then we will all take that final deep sigh of relief . ''
He added that the White House Medical Unit will deliver `` 24/7 , world-class medical care '' and `` we 're not going to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up here . ''
Trump first arrived at Walter Reed on Friday night after sharing the news of his positive coronavirus test early that morning .
During a briefing Sunday , Trump 's physicians shared that the president had received his first dose of the steroid dexamethasone on Saturday after two drops in his oxygen levels and is undergoing a five-day course of remdesivir .
Dr. Brian Garibaldi told reporters on Monday that Trump would get a fifth dose of remdesivir at the White House on Tuesday night and that he continues to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go into details regarding the president 's lung scans , citing patient privacy regulations , and refused to say when Trump 's last negative coronavirus test was , saying , `` I do n't want to go backwards . ''
He said Trump had not been on any fever-reducing medication for more than 72 hours .
When asked whether Trump had experienced any side effects from the medications , including mental fogginess , Conley simply said , `` I think you 've seen the videos and now the tweets , and you 'll @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he 's back . ''
Conley did n't give an answer on where in the White House Trump will stay , saying , `` We 're going to do whatever it takes for the president to safely conduct business wherever it is he needs to do within the residence and White House . ''
( In a video Saturday night , Trump said he had preferred to go to Walter Reed over the weekend rather than be `` locked up '' in a room in the White House . )
Conley declined to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should n't be afraid of the coronavirus , a striking statement as the American death toll climbs past 210,000 .
As for potential travel for the president , Conley said , `` We 'll see . ''
But Trump appears eager to get back on the campaign trail , tweeting shortly before he departed Walter Reed , `` Will be back on the Campaign Trail soon !
!
!
The Fake News only shows the Fake Polls . ''
Since being admitted for treatment , Trump has worked to convey an image of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ insisted the president has continued to carry out his duties , releasing photos of him purportedly working in the hospital .
Trump has also shared video messages on Twitter .
On Sunday , Trump made an unannounced motorcade visit outside the facility to greet supporters gathered there .
The timeline of Trump 's symptoms from the coronavirus has been at times murky , with inconsistencies between the medical briefings and statements from White House officials .
The discrepancies have led to concerns about the transparency of the administration on the president 's battle @ @ @ @

'Don't Be Afraid Of It': Trump Dismisses Virus Threat As He Returns To White House
Enlarge this image toggle caption Alex Brandon/AP Alex Brandon/AP
Updated at 8:18 p.m. ET
President Trump walked out of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday evening, planning on receiving the remainder of his treatment for COVID-19 at the White House.
He was seen pumping his fist in the air on the way out of the building and didn't respond to any questions from the press. Upon arriving back at the White House, Trump walked up the staircase of the South Portico entrance, removed his mask, gave reporters standing below a thumbs-up and saluted Marine One.
After he returned, he tweeted a video telling Americans to not be afraid of the coronavirus. "One thing that's for certain: don't let it dominate you. Don't be afraid of it. You're going to beat it," he said. "We have the best medical equipment, we have the best medicines – all developed recently."
More than 200,000 people have died from the coronavirus in the U.S.
Trump said he "didn't feel so good" when he got the virus but "felt great" two days ago, "better than I have in a long time."
"And now I'm better — and maybe I'm immune, I don't know," Trump said.
Earlier Monday, Trump tweeted his plans to leave the facility. His doctors later reiterated it was safe for him to return to the White House but that his treatment regimen is ongoing.
Enlarge this image toggle caption Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
Meanwhile, a number of Trump's associates at the White House and with the campaign have also tested positive for the coronavirus.
Yet Trump sounded particularly optimistic in his tweet announcing his impending return.
"Feeling really good! Don't be afraid of Covid. Don't let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!" Trump wrote.
His medical team briefed the press on his health status Monday afternoon and confirmed the president would be returning to the White House.
Sean Conley, Trump's physician, said although Trump may not be "entirely out of the woods yet," he believes he is ready to get his care at the White House.
"We're in a bit of uncharted territory when it comes to a patient that received the therapies he has so early in the course," Conley said.
"If we can get through to Monday with him remaining the same or improving, better yet, then we will all take that final deep sigh of relief."
He added that the White House Medical Unit will deliver "24/7, world-class medical care" and "we're not going to miss anything that we would have caught up here."
Trump first arrived at Walter Reed on Friday night after sharing the news of his positive coronavirus test early that morning.
During a briefing Sunday, Trump's physicians shared that the president had received his first dose of the steroid dexamethasone on Saturday after two drops in his oxygen levels and is undergoing a five-day course of remdesivir. Dr. Brian Garibaldi told reporters on Monday that Trump would get a fifth dose of remdesivir at the White House on Tuesday night and that he continues to receive a steroid.
Conley would not go into details regarding the president's lung scans, citing patient privacy regulations, and refused to say when Trump's last negative coronavirus test was, saying, "I don't want to go backwards."
He said Trump had not been on any fever-reducing medication for more than 72 hours.
When asked whether Trump had experienced any side effects from the medications, including mental fogginess, Conley simply said, "I think you've seen the videos and now the tweets, and you'll see him shortly, you know, he's back."
Conley didn't give an answer on where in the White House Trump will stay, saying, "We're going to do whatever it takes for the president to safely conduct business wherever it is he needs to do within the residence and White House." (In a video Saturday night, Trump said he had preferred to go to Walter Reed over the weekend rather than be "locked up" in a room in the White House.)
Conley declined to comment on Trump's tweet that people shouldn't be afraid of the coronavirus, a striking statement as the American death toll climbs past 210,000.
As for potential travel for the president, Conley said, "We'll see."
But Trump appears eager to get back on the campaign trail, tweeting shortly before he departed Walter Reed, "Will be back on the Campaign Trail soon!!! The Fake News only shows the Fake Polls."
Since being admitted for treatment, Trump has worked to convey an image of strength and normalcy. The White House insisted the president has continued to carry out his duties, releasing photos of him purportedly working in the hospital. Trump has also shared video messages on Twitter.
On Sunday, Trump made an unannounced motorcade visit outside the facility to greet supporters gathered there.
The timeline of Trump's symptoms from the coronavirus has been at times murky, with inconsistencies between the medical briefings and statements from White House officials.
The discrepancies have led to concerns about the transparency of the administration on the president's battle with the coronavirus.