Trump coronavirus: Chief of staff ‘optimistic’ president will leave hospital today amid concern he could expose staff to infection

The White House should know as early as Monday afternoon on if the president will be released

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has said he’s “optimistic” Donald Trump will leave Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre on Monday after receiving coronavirus treatment over the weekend. 

“Spoke to the president this morning,” Mr Meadows said in a statement to Fox News. “He continued to improve overnight and is ready to get back to a normal working schedule.” 

He added the president “will meet with his doctors and nurses this morning to make further assessments of his progress."

“We are still optimistic that he will be able to return to the White House later today, with his medical professionals making that determination later today," the statement concluded. 

Mr Meadows told Fox & Friends on Monday morning that the White House would know as early as Monday afternoon if the president could be released. 

 “[Mr Trump is] really, not only understanding what millions of Americans have had to face as they’ve come in contact with this disease, but more importantly the fact that we need to continue to work on therapeutics,” he added. 

"His treatment has been remarkable," Mr Meadows said. "His strength has been incredible."

Mr Trump tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday and was then taken to the hospital on Friday so doctors could monitor the president after he displayed “mild” symptoms. 

Since being admitted into the hospital, the president has experienced health scares from the novel virus, including sudden drops in his oxygen levels twice. Doctors treated the president with a dose of the steroid dexamethasone following the drops in oxygen. 

Dr Sean Conley, the White House physician who has served as the president’s personal physician, said in a press briefing the president’s oxygen dropped to 94 per cent on Friday and he had “another episode” on Saturday. Normal oxygen readings land between 95 to 100 per cent. 

Mr Trump also had a “high fever” on Friday, the physician said. 

The White House has attempted to show Mr Trump remains strong while fighting the infection by sharing multiple videos of the president over the weekend. Mr Trump even took a drive with Secret Service agents outside the medical centre on Sunday so he could wave at supporters. 

This drive sparked concerns among health experts that the president was exposing his staff to the virus, which has killed more than 209,000 Americans since the start of the pandemic. 

“Appropriate precautions were taken in the execution of this movement to protect the president and all those supporting it, including PPE," a White House spokesperson said in response to the criticism. 

“The movement was cleared by the medical team as safe to do," he added.  

Mr Meadows also pushed back on the criticism by reminding the public how the president traveled to the hospital on Friday. 

"We came here on Marine One, the US Secret Service agent that is with him has been with him, and yet we took additional precautions with PPE and others to make sure they were protected," Mr Meadows said. "A number of folks are trying to make a big deal about that when I know myself and Secret Service details are with him everyday and want him to return to the White House as expeditiously as possible."

On average, a person is infected with coronavirus for about five days before they develop symptoms. This pre-symptomatic period helps spread the novel virus, as the person has no symptom indicators that they’re infected with Covid-19. 

A person can then remain a carrier for the novel virus for days following displaying symptoms. 

Mr Trump returning to the White House has sparked concerns he could still spread the novel virus to other members of his staff. 

On Sunday, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the White House would not release the names of staffers who test positive for Covid-19, backtracking a previous comment from another spokesperson.  She said this decision was made to protect the privacy of the White House employees. 

The White House has not detailed if the president would remain isolated if he were to leave the hospital on Monday. 

First Lady Melania Trump, who also tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday, has remained at the White House.