《TAIPEI TIMES》 Trump hospitalized for COVID-19 treatment

/ AFP, WASHINGTON

US President Donald Trump was on Friday hospitalized and given an experimental COVID-19 treatment, but said that he was “well,” following news he had contracted the virus, knocking him off the campaign trail a month from the US election.

After having not been seen in public since the shock announcement, the president walked out of the White House on Friday evening, wearing a mask, and flew by helicopter to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington.

請繼續往下閱讀...

In an 18-second video recorded inside the White House and released on Twitter, Trump broke his silence, saying he was being hospitalized, but “I think I’m doing very well.”

“We’re going to make sure that things work out,” he said, adding that US first lady Melania Trump — who also contracted the virus — was “doing very well.”

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said that Donald Trump was receiving the anti-viral drug remdesivir following consultation with specialists.

The president was “not requiring any supplemental oxygen,” she said in a statement late on Friday.

Earlier, she said that medical experts recommended Donald Trump work from the presidential offices at Walter Reed “for the next few days.”

The hospitalization indicated an intense effort to make sure the president’s reportedly “mild” symptoms do not deteriorate.

The development also highlighted the uncharted waters for the US election on Nov. 3, with Donald Trump — who is well behind his Democratic opponent Joe Biden in the polls — having to freeze much of his campaign.

At first, aides gave rosy assessments, with Donald Trump’s chief of staff saying that the president, 74, had only mild symptoms, was in “good spirits” and feeling “very energetic.”

However, later on Friday White House physician Sean Conley said that Donald Trump received a single dose of Regeneron’s antibody cocktail, a treatment not yet approved by regulators.

The experimental therapy is an artificial version of the antibodies the immune system naturally makes to fight off infection. The treatment could help jump-start the president’s fight against the virus.

“He’s being evaluated by a team of experts, and together we’ll be making recommendations to the President and first lady in regards to next best steps,” Conley wrote.

Donald Trump’s illness has upended the White House race, with Biden suddenly finding himself alone on the campaign trail.

Underlining his sudden advantage in the bitter race, Biden, 77, traveled to Grand Rapids, Michigan, going ahead with a previously scheduled campaign stop.

Biden reminded voters that he has pushed consistently for taking the coronavirus seriously.

“Be patriotic,” Biden told supporters in Michigan through a blue surgical mask. “It’s not about being a tough guy. It’s about doing your part.”

News of Donald Trump’s infection came after one of his closest advisers, Hope Hicks, tested positive — sparking fears of a cluster of cases emanating from the heart of the White House.

Donald Trump met with dozens of people through the week and reportedly went to a fundraiser in New Jersey after it was known that Hicks had contracted the virus.

The White House said it was carrying out contact tracing.

Former White House adviser Kellyanne Conway announced late on Friday that she had tested positive with “mild” symptoms.

Donald Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien, said he had tested positive, US media reported, and was in quarantine with mild symptoms.

Additional reporting by Bloomberg

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES