Trump's doctor makes it clear he shouldn't be leaving the hospital yet

White House physician Dr. Sean Conley downplayed concerns about Donald Trump leaving Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday, three days after being admitted for COVID-19, simultaneously admitting that Trump was still not in good health and would require continued medical care at home.

Conley said that while Trump’s team of doctors was “cautiously optimistic,” they were “in a bit of uncharted territory when it comes to a patient that received the therapies he has so early in the course,” referring to an experimental drug regimen that Trump had been on.

“We’re looking to this weekend, if we can get through to Monday with him remaining the same or improving, then we will all take that final deep sigh of relief,” Conley said.

He added, however, that Trump “may not entirely be out of the woods yet.”

During the press briefing, Conley was also asked at least three times when Trump was last tested, and when his last negative result was, but he refused to answer. 

Conley responded that he “does not want to go backwards.”

“As far as travel goes, we will see,” he said when asked whether Trump would be campaigning. 

Conley demurred when confronted about the details of Trump’s case, citing the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) at least twice.

“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,” Conley said. 

“We’ve worked with our infectious disease experts to make some recommendations for how to keep everything safe, down at the White House, for the president and those around him,” he added.

As a physician of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Conley is a military official who takes orders from Trump. 

Sources told CNN that Trump was “likely instructing” Conley on what to disclose. 

Experts say it’s likely not safe for Trump to be leaving Walter Reed at present. Already, at least 11 White House staffers or aides have tested positive for the virus, as well as multiple others who visited the Rose Garden in late September to celebrate the nomination of Trump’s Supreme Court pick, Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

One physician told The American Independent Foundation earlier on Monday that Trump was setting a dangerous example for others.

“In leaving, he is claiming victory … continuing to downplay it, telling people don’t be afraid, we have to live our lives … and we’re going to have more people die because of it,” said Rob Davidson, executive director of the Committee to Protect Medicare.

Davidson added that Trump’s drug regimen — a three-drug cocktail — was in fact “generally reserved for people who are moderately to severely ill […].”

“…And yet he’s still deciding to blow it off,” Davidson said.

The White House initially claimed on Friday that Trump was being taken to Walter Reed out of an abundance of caution, however doctors later admitted that his blood oxygen level had dropped perilously over the weekend, forcing them to administer a steroid “that has typically been given to Covid-19 patients who are seriously ill,” the Wall Street Journal noted.

Trump himself has downplayed the threat to his health, tweeting Monday afternoon that he was “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!” he claimed.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.