Donald Trump says he’s feeling “much better” after being taken to hospital with coronavirus, but also suggested that the next few days will be the “real test”.
The US President was taken to the Walter Reed military hospital on Friday, where he’s receiving a number of treatments - including an experimental antibody treatment.
On Saturday evening local time, Mr Trump tweeted a video of himself from the hospital and offered an update on his condition.
He said: “I came here... wasn’t feeling so well. I’m feeling much better now.
“The next period of a few days, I guess that’s the real test. We’ll see what happens.”
Mr Trump’s doctors, meanwhile, said the US president remains "fever-free and off supplemental option".
They said: “While not yet out of the woods, the team remains cautiously optimistic.”
Confusion
The updates followed a day of confusion and conflicting messages around the US president’s condition.
Mr Trump’s medical team provided an update to media on Saturday afternoon - an upbeat assessment indicating Mr Trump was doing well.
However, physician Sean Conley raised questions about the timeline of the president’s diagnosis when he referred to it being ‘72 hours’ after his diagnosis - meaning Mr Trump would have been diagnosed earlier on Wednesday or Thursday than previously known.
The White House has since released a statement noting that Dr Conley misspoke, confirming that Mr Trump was diagnosed on Thursday evening.
Meanwhile, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows indicated to a pool of journalists that Mr Trump’s condition on Friday had been more serious and concerning than previously disclosed.
Jeff Mason, White House correspondent for Reuters, spoke to Newstalk Breakfast about the conflicting statements and lingering questions.
He explained: “Confusion was absolutely reigning in the United States, as a result of first a briefing by the doctors… then a follow-up from a source who was familiar with the President’s condition, saying to the pool of reporters there that the outlook for the next couple days was not clear.
“That definitely raised flags and concerns about how much reliable information we were getting about the President’s health.”
Mr Mason said the video released overnight shows that Mr Trump is working and clearly able “to sit up and talk… not quite as energetically as he usually does, but nonetheless looking fairly normal”.
He added: “[Mr Trump] also has suggested, and others too, that the next couple of days are what will be critical.
"At this point it’s a hurry up and wait situation, to see how and whether his condition changes.”
