JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Physicians say President Trump testing positive for the coronavirus serves as a reminder to everyone that the virus is still with us and anyone can get it.
Each patient is different and it’s hard to tell exactly how someone’s body will react to COVID-19. On Friday, News4Jax spoke with the Elizabeth Ransom, the chief physician executive at Baptist Health, about the president testing positive.
Trump is 74 years old, weighs 244 pounds and is 6-feet 3-inches tall. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the president’s age puts him in a higher-risk category and his weight increases his risk of more serious complications.
“The vast majority of people who actually do get COVID and are positive, even if they do develop symptoms, they recover fully. Completely,” Ransom said. “Unfortunately, that’s not the case for everyone.”
The president tweeted that he’s quarantined at the white house, an environment where typically a lot of people come and go, especially during campaign season.
“Once someone has been in isolation for 10 to 14 days or so, no longer has symptoms and hasn’t had a fever for at least 24 hours, then one can start to go out into the public again,” Ransom said.
She said symptoms are commonly shown between two and seven days and sometimes up to two weeks after being infected. The president will likely be tested at the end of the two weeks before the next debate.
On Friday, the White House said the president was still working, that he’d been on the phone and was doing well despite showing mild symptoms.
Trump’s campaign manager says all campaign events involving the president and his family will either be turned into virtual events or postponed until further notice.