US President Donald Trump moved to Walter Reed military hospital for Covid-19 treatment

US President Donald Trump was moved to a military hospital outside the national capital “out of an abundance of caution”, the White House said on Friday, hours after he announced that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for Covid-19

The American president was in “good spirits” and showed “mild symptoms”.

“I’m going to Walter Reed Hospital,” Trump said in a video message he tweeted after reaching the Walter Reed Military Medical Center. “I think I’m doing very well, but we’re going to make sure that things work out. The first lady is doing very well. So thank you very much, I appreciate it, I will never forget.”

Trump waved to reporters as he walked to the helicopter waiting at the White House to fly him to Walter Reed, a short distance from Washington, DC. He didn’t answer questions from journalists. He wore a mask, and so did the others who were seen with him, including his chief of staff Mark Meadows.

In the afternoon, Kayleigh McEnany, press secretary to Trump, said in a statement that “out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the president will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days”.

Sean Conley, the US president’s physician, said in a statement that Trump was “fatigued but in good spirits” and had been given a single 8-gram dose of a cocktail of antibodies to fight the coronavirus. It is an experimental drug that hasn’t yet been approved for use against the virus.

Conley said Trump had also been given zinc, Vitamin D, famotidine, melatonin and a daily dose of aspirin.

The first lady “remains well with only a mild cough and headache”, the physician said, adding that the rest of the first family had tested negative.