US President Donald Trump has completed his course of therapy for Covid-19 and could resume public engagements as early as Saturday, according to his physician.
Dr. Sean Conley said in a memo released by the White House that Trump had responded “extremely well” to treatment without any evidence of adverse effects and had remained stable since returning to the White House.
Trump was hospitalized last Friday after he announced he had contracted the coronavirus. He returned to the White House three days later.
“Since returning home, his physical exam has remained stable and devoid of any indications to suggest progression of illness,” Conley wrote. “Saturday will be day 10 since Thursday’s diagnosis, and based on the trajectory of advanced diagnostics the team has been conducting, I fully anticipate the President’s safe return to public engagements at that time.”
Trump later said he would probably take another Covid test on Friday and hoped to hold a rally over the weekend. Speaking to Fox News, he said he was feeling “really good” and hoped to hold a campaign rally on Saturday evening, possibly in Florida.
Earlier, the US President pulled out of a second debate with Biden after the Commission on Presidential Debates announced that the October 15 event would be held in a virtual format, with the candidates in separate locations, to ensure it could go forward whether or not Trump remained virus-free.
The move cast doubt about if further debates would take place. The Biden team has proposed the debate should go ahead on 22 October instead. However, the Trump team said there should be a third face-to-face debate – on 29 October, just five days before polling. But the Biden team said that debates could only be scheduled on the three dates already agreed, which are 29 September, 15 October and 22 October.
Although President Trump’s doctor has said he now has no symptoms, questions still remain about when he first became infected and whether he could still be contagious.