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Trump says he feels good, prepares to leave hospital

Donald Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump says he is to leave the military hospital, where he has been treated for coronavirus later on Monday.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Donald Trump and Melania test positive for COVID-19

Daily Times Nigeria gathered that Trump said he was “feeling really good” and told the country not to fear the disease.

“I will be leaving the great Walter Reed Medical Centre today at 6.30 p.m. (2230 GMT0,’’ he wrote on Twitter.

“Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of COVID-19.

“Don’t let it dominate your life … I feel better than I did 20 years ago!’’

The president has come under fire in the past for downplaying the pandemic, which has infected over 7.4 million people and led to more than 210,000 deaths in the U.S.

“He may not be entirely out of the woods yet,’’ Trump’s physician, Sean Conley, told reporters.

“But the team and I agree that all of 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.’’

The president has been at the medical centre outside Washington since Friday.

Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, said she had tested positive for the coronavirus, becoming the latest in a growing cluster of people around Trump to be infected.

“I will begin the quarantine process and will continue working on behalf of the American people remotely,’’ McEnany said in a statement posted on Twitter.

She said she was not experiencing any symptoms and that no journalists were considered close contacts.

McEnany has been criticised in recent days for briefing reporters at the White House without wearing a face mask.

Trump’s top adviser, Hope Hicks, campaign manager Bill Stepien and his wife Melania have also been infected.

“I am feeling good and will continue to rest at home,’’ the first lady tweeted on Monday.

Trump tweeted nearly 20 times in the early morning, mostly about the Nov. 3 election.

His illness has thrown the campaign into a tailspin.

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, who resumed in-person campaigning on Monday, urged Trump to “listen to the scientists” as he returns home.

Biden, who has tested negative for the coronavirus repeatedly in recent days, said he would participate in the second presidential debate with Trump, scheduled for Oct. 15, if health experts deemed it appropriate.

During their update on the president’s health on Monday, doctors said it had been 72 hours since the president last had a fever and that his oxygen levels were normal.

Trump, 74, will receive a fourth dose of remdesivir, an antiviral drug, before leaving the hospital and a fifth and final dose on Tuesday evening in the White House, they said.

Some aspects of Trump’s coronavirus illness remain unclear.

His medical team again declined to reveal whether lung scans showed any damage.

Doctors have said the president’s oxygen levels dropped twice and he received supplemental oxygen at least once.

He had a fever, but the temperature was not disclosed.

Trump was on a steroid and also received an antibody cocktail.

At times, the medical team have seemed to paint an overly rosy picture, creating confusion, particularly as it has been combined with the White House’s refusal to get into some details.

In what appeared to be a show of strength to supporters, and despite likely still being infectious, Trump briefly left the hospital on Sunday.

He was driven in a black government vehicle past fans gathered outside the medical centre and waved at them.

The White House said the drive was approved by the medical team “as safe to do”, but critics said the move endangered those around him.

The president often did not wear masks in public and held large gatherings.

He attended fundraisers in New Jersey just hours before he tested positive on Thursday.

It remains unclear when exactly he was infected.

 (dpa/NAN)

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Ihesiulo Grace

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