Donald Trump to be moved to military hospital after Covid-19 diagnosis

Trump, 74, will be moved to a special suite at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, for the next few days as a precautionary measure, White House said

US President Donald Trump is moving to a military hospital for treatment after being diagnosed with Covid-19, the White House said on Friday, as his administration and election campaign scrambled to adjust to an extraordinary twist in his turbulent presidency.
 

Trump, 74, will be moved to a special suite at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, for the next few days as a precautionary measure, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said.
 

"Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the President will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days," she said in a statement.
 

Trump has a mild fever, according to a source familiar with the matter. White House doctor Sean P. Conley wrote in a memo that he is "fatigued but in good spirits." It was the latest recent setback for the Republican president, who is trailing Democratic rival Joe Biden in opinion polls ahead of the Nov. 3 presidential election.
 

Trump, who has played down the threat of the coronavirus pandemic from the outset, wrote on Twitter earlier on Friday that he and his wife Melania were going into quarantine after testing positive for the virus, which has killed more than 200,000 Americans and severely damaged the US economy.
 

An active Twitter user, Trump has not posted any messages since then.
 

Trump is at high risk because of his age and weight. He has remained in apparent good health during his time in office but is not known to exercise regularly or to follow a healthy diet.
 

Conley said Trump has received an experimental treatment, Regeneron's REGN-COV2. The drug is one of several experimental Covid-19 drugs known as monoclonal antibodies, which are used for treating a wide range of illnesses. US

infectious disease chief Dr. Anthony Fauci is among those saying the technique has promise.
 

Trump is also taking zinc, Vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin and a daily aspirin.
 

Stocks on Wall Street closed lower as news of Trump's diagnosis added to mounting uncertainties surrounding the election.
 

The president's illness upended his re-election campaign with just 31 days to go until Election Day. The campaign said it would postpone rallies and other events where he was scheduled to appear, or take them online.
 

Biden, meanwhile, campaigned in Michigan after testing negative for the virus. At a union hall in Grand Rapids, Biden said he was praying for his rival's swift recovery and urged Americans to wear masks to slow the spread of the disease.
 

But he also implicitly criticized Trump, who rarely wears a mask in public and has held huge campaign rallies with little social distancing.
 

"Be patriotic," Biden said. "It's not about being a tough guy. It's about doing your part."
 

Trump's illness also raised questions about the health of others atop the US government.
 

Vice President Mike Pence, who would take over if Trump were to fall severely ill, has tested negative, a spokesman said. The former Indiana governor, 61, is working from his own residence several miles from the White House.
 

Pence took over Trump's planned calls with governors and retirees' organizations. His Oct. 7 debate with Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris will go forward as planned, organizers said. Harris has tested negative for the virus, according to the campaign.