Donald Trump’s COVID-19 update: Doubts emerge about timing and severity of US president’s infection

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US President Donald Trump has said in a video on Twitter that he is "starting to feel good" and “will be back soon.” However, White House physician Sean Conley has said the president is "not yet out of the woods".

Those messages were among the latest in a string of contradictory and often misleading information about Trump's diagnosis with COVID-19.

Trump (74) and First Lady Melania Trump (50) tested positive for COVID-19 on October 2. The president is receiving treatment at the Walter Reed Military Medical Centre in Bethesda, a Maryland suburb of Washington DC. Melania has stayed back at the White House.

Since then several other officials working at the presidential palace have contracted the infection. However, the administration has consistently been less than transparent about the president's health as the virus spread inside the White House.

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Even the sunnier briefing by Sean Conley and other doctors at Walter Reed Medical Center on October 3 raised more questions than it answered, including about whether the president has ever required supplemental oxygen and exactly when he fell ill.

Conley said Trump was not administered oxygen on October 1 or since he has been a patient at Walter Reed Medical Center. The doctor painted a rosy picture of the president's health as he remains hospitalized for coronavirus treatment.

But that assessment was immediately contradicted by a person familiar with Trump's condition, who said the situation had been very concerning. The person, who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, confirmed that Trump was given oxygen at the White House. The person further told the news agency that the next 48 hours will be critical in terms of his care.

Also, Conley’s statement on October 3 that “we are now 72 hours into this diagnosis for President Trump” raised the question of whether Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19 on September 30. If the timeline is correct, it means Trump held a rally and fundraiser in Minnesota on September 30 and an intimate fundraiser in New Jersey on October 1 while knowing he was sick, potentially exposing supporters, employees and others.

However, the White House said later on October 3 that Conley misspoke, and sent a memo clarifying that he meant to say “day three” of the president’s illness.

Follow our full coverage on COVID-19 here.