Rudy Giuliani admits he was ‘worn down’ days before being diagnosed with Covid

The 76-year-old former New York City mayor was admitted to Medstar Georgetown University Hospital in DC on 6 December

Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani has admitted that he felt “worn down” in the middle of last week but only went to hospital after being advised by a doctor on his radio show some days later, where he was confirmed to have Covid-19.

The 76-year-old former New York City mayor was admitted to the Medstar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington DC on 6 December, according to the president who tweeted that his attorney had been diagnosed with the virus.

Mr Giuliani was released on Wednesday following three nights in hospital, after saying he had suffered from shortness of breath, a fever and a mild cough.

Mr Giuliani appeared to have ignored advice from US public health officials which says those who have coronavirus symptoms should self-isolate. He has also mocked people who “overdo the mask”.

Speaking in a video uploaded to YouTube on Friday, Mr Giuliani admitted that he had felt “worn down” a number of days before entering hospital, “probably somewhere in the middle of the week”. But he said that he had continued to work because “I never admit that I’m worn down.”  

Mr Giuliani attended public events throughout the week leading up to his hospital admission. He met with government officials and lawmakers on behalf of the Trump campaign in Georgia on 3 December, in Michigan on 2 December and Arizona on 30 November. 

On 6 December, Doctor Maria Ryan, co-presenter on his weekly radio show and CEO of a New Hampshire hospital, informed Mr Giuliani that he looked pale and carried out a blood oxygen test on the spot. 

“She saw it went down to 88, and she said ‘oh my goodness that’s very very bad,'" Mr Giuliani said during the 30-minute YouTube video.

The attorney then said Dr Ryan told him that she thought he “had symptoms of Covid”.

Mr Giuliani said  “oh no, no no no no, I’m not going to a hospital” and protested until Dr Ryan phoned his son and White House aide, Andrew Giuliani, who agreed with the doctor. 

“Thank goodness they did,” Mr Giuliani said. “Because when I got there, I finally admitted to them I had a somewhat shortness of breath, I had a fever and I had a mild cough."

He added: “When they took x-rays and CT [scans], whatever, turns out I had Covid pneumonia, which I didn’t know. I didn’t know because I had no pain. I had no pain from the pneumonia."

The Republican attorney, who is overseeing the Trump campaign’s legal challenges to the election results, said that he was treated with the same “cocktail” as the president.

Mr Trump was flown to Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland after being diagnosed with Covid-19 in October. The president later confirmed that he had been treated with Remdesivir, the steroid Dexamethasone, and an antibody treatment made by Regeneron Pharmaceuticals.

The US Food and Drug Administration has not approved the drugs for widespread use on Covid-19 patients.

The US has recorded almost 300,000 Covid-19 deaths and more than 16 million infections, according to John Hopkins University data.