WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is planning to return to the White House on Monday evening, but doctors couldn’t say when he’ll no longer be contagious for the coronavirus or when he’d be able to travel again.
The president’s personal physician, Dr. Sean Conley, told reporters at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Monday afternoon that Trump is not out of the woods yet, but that there is no care at the hospital that the president cannot get at the White House.
Dr. Jason Blaylock said Monday that he’s working closely with local laboratories to obtain advanced diagnostic testing that would inform the White House medical team about Trump’s ability to transmit the virus to others. Typically, COVID-19 patients don’t have tests when they leave the hospital.
The president’s health team also refused to disclose the findings of his lung scans as they updated the public on his condition.
Conley said that he’s “just not at liberty to discuss” the findings.
COVID-19 can cause serious lung damage, including pneumonia, that can be visible in scans.
Conley was also evasive over the weekend. He said there were “some expected findings” in Trump’s scans, but he declined to say what those findings were. He said there was “nothing of any major clinical concern.”
Conley also said he was not concerned about the president going back to the White House on Monday. He said the first five days of illness is when people are most likely to shed the virus.
“We’re going to do whatever it takes for the president to safely conduct business” within the White House, he said.
Trump announced his coronavirus diagnosis early Friday has been in the hospital since the weekend.