Trump in hospital as Covid diagnosis puts election campaign on hold

President Donald Trump arrives at Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre on Friday (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

US President Donald Trump has been airlifted to a military hospital less than 24 hours after his Covid-19 diagnosis.

Mr Trump was taken by helicopter to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre on Friday and is expected to remain there for “a few days”.

A White House spokeswoman stressed that the hospital stay was “out of an abundance of caution” and that the 74-year-old would work from the hospital’s presidential suite, which is equipped to allow him to continue his official duties.

Taoiseach Micheal Martin wished both the US president and the First Lady a "full and speedy" recovery in a tweet yesterday afternoon.

Wishing @POTUS and @FLOTUS a full & speedy recovery from coronavirus

— Micheál Martin (@MichealMartinTD) October 2, 2020

Mr Trump walked out of the White House wearing a mask before boarding Marine One on Friday evening, and in a video on Twitter said: “I think I’m doing very well, but we’re going to make sure that things work out.”

Late on Friday, the president’s physician Sean Conley said the president was doing “very well”.

He added: “He is not requiring any supplemental oxygen, but in consultation with specialists we have elected to initiate Remdesivir therapy”.

Mr Trump tweeted: “Going well, I think! Thank you to all. Love!!!”

The US has been left reeling by the unfolding events surrounding Mr Trump’s health troubles, with the presidential election only four weeks away.

The president announced his diagnosis in a tweet in the early hours of Friday, following a positive test from one of his closest aides, Hope Hicks.

President Donald Trump arrives at Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

First lady Melania Trump has also tested positive and has a “mild cough and headache”, according to the doctor, but the remainder of the first family, including son Barron, who lives at the White House, have tested negative.

The president’s re-election campaign said all events featuring Mr Trump and members of his family would either be postponed or go online, but that vice-president Mike Pence would resume campaigning as he had tested negative.

Mr Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis is the latest among world leaders, with British prime minister Boris Johnson,  Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro and the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier also falling ill.