A feverish US President Donald Trump has been flown to hospital after testing positive for coronavirus.
His doctor said Mr Trump was “fatigued but in good spirits” and, in a later update, that he was doing well.
Mr Trump has so far been treated with an experimental drug cocktail injection and the antiviral medication Remdesivir after both he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for Covid-19.
In exactly one month, Mr Trump faces Joe Biden in the presidential election.
The latest update from Mr Trump’s physician, Sean Conley, in a memorandum late on Friday, read: “I am happy to report the president is doing very well.” He said the president was not in need of supplemental oxygen.
The list of other people to have tested positive around Mr Trump include close aide Hope Hicks – believed to be the first to show symptoms – campaign manager Bill Stepien and former White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway. Republican Senators Mike Lee and Thom Tillis have also tested positive.
How did the president look on Friday?
Wearing a mask and suit, Mr Trump walked out across the White House lawn on Friday afternoon to his helicopter, Marine One, for the short flight to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the Washington DC suburbs.
He waved and gave a thumbs-up to reporters but said nothing before boarding the aircraft.
In a video posted to Twitter, Mr Trump said: “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.”
The president’s children, Ivanka and Eric, retweeted his post, praising him as a “warrior”. Ms Trump added: “I love you dad.”
Mr Trump was admitted to the presidential suite at Walter Reed, which is where US presidents usually have their annual check-up.
Shortly before midnight, he tweeted again: “Going well, I think! Thank you to all. LOVE!!!”
Mr Trump’s symptoms include a low-grade fever, according to the BBC’s US partner CBS News.
What treatment has the president received?
His doctor, Sean Conley, said the president was “not requiring any supplemental oxygen, but in consultation with specialists we have elected to initiate Remdesivir therapy. He has completed his first dose and is resting comfortably”.
Tests have shown Remdesivir, originally developed as an Ebola treatment, can cut the duration of symptoms.
Earlier on Friday, Dr Conley said the president had “as a precautionary measure received an 8g dose of Regeneron’s antibody cocktail” at the White House.
