‘Symptom-Free’ For 24 Hours, Trump Taking Remdesivir, Steroids For COVID

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Symptom-Free For 24 Hours, Says White House Doctor 
President Trump’s recovery from a Covid-19 infection continued to progress, the White House’s top doctor said Wednesday, even as key details about the president’s health and his potential return to the campaign trail remained unclear. Mr. Trump had gone 24 hours without any coronavirus symptoms, Dr. Sean Conley said in a memo released by the White House. The president hadn’t had a fever in four days, his oxygen saturation and respiratory rate were stable and in normal range, and blood work on Monday showed “detectable levels” of Covid-19 antibodies, Dr. Conley said. (Bender, 10/7)

The Hill: Trump Says He Feels 'Great' And Is Symptomless: White House Doctor 
President Trump reports feeling “great” and experiencing no symptoms less than six days after being diagnosed with the novel coronavirus, according to a memo from the White House physician issued Wednesday. “The President this morning says ‘I feel great!’ His physical exam and vital signs, including oxygen saturation and respiratory rate, all remain stable and in normal range,” White House physician Sean Conley wrote in the memo released Wednesday afternoon. (Chalfant, 10/7)

NBC News: Trump Asked Walter Reed Doctors To Sign Nondisclosure Agreements In 2019
President Donald Trump has required personnel at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center to sign nondisclosure agreements before they could be involved with treating him, according to four people familiar with the process. During a surprise trip to Walter Reed on Nov. 16, 2019, Trump mandated signed NDAs from both physicians and nonmedical staff, most of whom are active-duty military service members, these people said. At least two doctors at Walter Reed who refused to sign the NDAs were subsequently not permitted to have any involvement in the president's care, two of the people said. (Lee and Kube, 10/8)

The Washington Post: Trump Returns To Oval Office As Aides Refuse To Say When He Last Tested Negative For Covid-19 
The White House again refused on Wednesday to say when President Trump last tested negative for the novel coronavirus, leaving open the possibility that he potentially exposed dozens of people to the deadly virus before the announcement of his positive test early Friday. Trump attended several events last week — including a presidential debate against Democratic nominee Joe Biden, a campaign rally and an in-person fundraiser — where he could have potentially exposed people to the coronavirus if he was infectious at that time. The disease has killed more than 210,000 Americans. (Olorunnipa, Dawsey and Parker, 10/7)

The Hill: Here's Why It Matters When Trump Last Tested Negative For COVID-19 
White House officials and the president's physician have refused to disclose when President Trump last tested negative for COVID-19, a key detail that has implications for how long the president could be infectious and who else he might have exposed to the highly contagious virus. The White House has said Trump's first positive test result came back Thursday. He is known to have shown symptoms Friday, including fatigue and fever, and required supplemental oxygen. But the timeline remains fuzzy beyond that. (Samuels, 10/7)

Politico: Trump Returns To A West Wing Ghost Town 
Wednesday had all the trappings of a typical day at the Trump White House. There was a morning flurry of all-caps tweets from President Donald Trump. From his residence, Trump cycled through his favorite subjects — he wanted his political opponents jailed, Democrats were ruining the balloting system, etc. Then, in the early afternoon, Trump descended to the Oval Office to get briefings on a brewing hurricane and congressional negotiations. ... Yet each of those developments was infused with the surreality of the moment. Trump’s tweet storm was not just seen as “Trump being Trump.” It caused some, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to wonder whether the steroids Trump took as part of his coronavirus treatment were fueling his all-caps tweetfest. (McGraw, 10/7)

In related news —

USA Today: Why The Russians May Know More About Trump's Health And COVID-19 Diagnosis Than The American Public
While the American public is relying on White House physician Sean Conley and other officials to disclose the latest information about Trump's health, the Kremlin may be listening in on private conversations between the president and his outside advisers, as well as conversations among his family members and even his doctors. And with several top Trump staffers working from home after contracting COVID-19 or being exposed to the virus, the White House's communications may be particularly vulnerable, said said Carol "Rollie" Flynn, a 30-year CIA veteran who is now president of the Foreign Policy Research Institute, a nonpartisan think tank. "I would hope that ... the operational security of his doctors is good, and they're not chatting about his diagnosis on the telephones," Flynn said. "But if they are, it's very likely the Russian may know more than we do." (Shesgreen, 10/7)

AP: Analyzing Trump's Illness Is Humbling For Media's Med Teams
Here’s an assignment to humble even the most confident doctor: Assess a patient’s condition before millions of people without being able to examine him or see a complete medical chart. That, in effect, is what medical experts at news organizations have been asked to do since President Donald Trump revealed Friday that he had tested positive for COVID-19.They have a fine line to walk, needing to decide what level of speculation — if any — that they’re comfortable with, how much to read into medications the president has been prescribed and how to explain the course of a virus so new that it still confounds the people who study it. (Bauder, 10/8)