President Trump declares the nation should not fear the virus
President Donald Trump left the military hospital where he has been receiving an unprecedented level of care for COVID-19, immediately igniting a new controversy by declaring that despite his illness the nation should not be afraid of the virus that has killed more than 210,000 Americans. An absolutely stunning statement at this point in the pandemic.
I imagine people would not fear COVID-19, if each person had access to a helicopter to fly them to Bethesda Military Hospital, to the Presidential hospital suite, manned by a flock of obedient doctors and nurses just waiting for your commands. Don't forget you could also have unlimited access to experimental, unapproved drugs, just like the President. You could even possibly appear to get some work done, having you picture taken while signing blank peices of paper with you favorite sharpe. Only in the Twilight Zone my friends and that's where we must be?
Trump’s doctor, Navy Cdr. Sean Conley, said the president would not be fully “out of the woods” for another week but Trump had met or exceeded standards for discharge from the hospital. Trump, though according to experts is in a highly contageous phase of the virus, is expected to continue his recovery at the White House, where the reach of the outbreak that has infected the highest levels of the U.S. government is still being uncovered.
Trump himself made a point of sounding confident. He tweeted on Monday, “I will be leaving the great Walter Reed Medical Center today at 6:30 P.M. Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. ... I feel better than I did 20 years ago!”
Trump’s message that people shouldn’t fear the virus alarmed infectious disease experts and suggested the president’s own illness had not caused him to rethink his often-cavalier attitude toward the disease. His disregard for the lives and health of others has also infected the first lady and several White House aides, including new cases revealed on Monday.
“We have to be realistic in this: COVID is a complete threat to the American population,” said Dr. David Nace of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, an expert on infections in older adults.
“Most of the people aren’t so lucky as the president,” with an in-house medical unit and access to experimental treatments, Nace added.
