President Donald Trump disembarks from the Marine One helicopter as he arrives at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Friday following his diagnosis with coronavirus. (REUTERS).United States of America (USA), President Donald Trump was transferred to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland late on Friday afternoon following a Covid-19 diagnosis that has pulled him off the campaign trail a month before Election Day.
“Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician, the president will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days,” press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said after earlier comments by Trump aides that he was expected to convalesce at the White House.
Trump walked on his own, wearing a dark suit with a blue tie, to the Marine One helicopter at around 6.20pm for his short flight to the medical facility.
The pandemic that Trump tried to push to the background-accusing China about its role in the coronavirus’s origins in a bid to deflect questions about why the illness has continued to spread in the US- has engulfed his efforts to turn around a campaign that showed him falling behind his Democratic challenger Joe Biden.
“All previously announced campaign events involving the president’s participation are in the process of being moved to virtual events or are being temporarily postponed,” Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien announced on Friday. “All other campaign events will be considered on a case-by-case basis and we will make any relevant announcements in the days ahead.”
As of Friday morning, Trump was experiencing “mild” Covid-19 symptoms, according to the White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
The president has had coldlike symptoms and “seemed lethargic” at a campaign fundraiser held on Thursday at his golf club at Bedminster, New Jersey, The New York Times reported, citing two people familiar with the situation.
However, Joe Biden announced on Friday that he and his wife, Jill, had tested negative for the coronavirus. The former vice-president had stood about 12 feet (3.66 metres) from President Trump during their debate on Tuesday.
During that debate, the first of three scheduled before Election Day on November 3, Trump mocked Biden for wearing a face mask often throughout the pandemic.
“I don’t wear face masks like him,” Trump said. “Every time you see him he’s got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away …and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen.”
Trump and his wife, Melania, who also tested positive for Covid-19, are isolating at the White House, his physician Sean Conley announced, adding that he expected the president “to continue carrying out his duties without interruption while recovering”.