Trump calls his COVID-19 ‘a Blessing From God’ amid false treatment claims

US President Donald Trump has called his coronavirus infection “a blessing from God,” which he said, was "cured" by a “miracle” not-yet-approved drug he was given.

Trump rushed to Oval Office on Wednesday, despite concerns that he should be self-isolating, as he left hospital on Monday only after three nights of being hospitalized for COVID-19.

In a video message posted to Twitter, the president said that an experimental drug cocktail from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals was given to him and that it was key to recovering from his infection.

“I feel great. I feel, like, perfect,” Trump said. “I think this was a blessing from God, that I caught it. This was a blessing in disguise. I caught it, I heard about this drug, I said let me take it. It was my suggestion.”

“I call that a cure,” Trump said, adding that everyone should have access to the drug, that has not even been proven therapeutic.

Trump leaves Walter Reed despite coronavirus infection

US President Donald Trump has left the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after spending three days there for treatment of the coronavirus.

The US president said he planned to make the antibody cocktail being developed by the drug maker Regeneron.

This comes as the drug does not have government approval yet. But the drug maker company said on Wednesday night that it had submitted an application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency approval, the New York Times reported.

Regeneron CEO Leonard Schleifer is a member of Trump’s golf club in Westchester.

Following Trump’s announcement, stocks in the company climbed by 3.73% in after-hours trading.

The firm has also been given more than $500 million in government funding to manufacture the treatment, as part of Operation Warp Speed.

Regeneron’s president and chief scientific officer, George Yancopoulos, said on Wednesday that it is possible that Trump responded to the treatment and that the level of virus had declined.

“That’s a logical conclusion,” he said. “Based on his symptomology, that has to have happened.”

But, according to the NY Times, no one can definitely say the treatment worked on Trump, while any drug needs to be proved in large clinical trials that compare the outcomes of people who got the product with those who received a placebo.

Those trials have not yet been completed on Regeneron antibody.

This was not the first time Trump was endorsing an unapproved treatment for COVID-19.

He initially promoted a controversial dug hydroxychloroquine as an answer for the deadly virus, despite a lack of evidence that it effectively treats or prevents the viral infection.

US COVID-19 deaths pass 210,000 amid warnings of more virus fatalities

The death toll from the coronavirus pandemic in the United States surpasses 210,000, with virus cases nearing 7.5 million.

The COVID-19 pandemic has so far infected 7,550,731 and killed 211,834 across the US, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Just weeks to November 3 election, the virus began to spread among senior Trump administration officials, as at least 27 people across the White House, election campaign and military leadership have tested positive for COVID-19.

One of Trump’s closest advisers, Stephen Miller, was diagnosed with the disease on Tuesday.

The figure, ABC reported, could be as high as 34, according to an internal government memo.

This has raised further questions about the safety of the president’s early return to the White House despite having announced a positive test less than a week ago.

According to guidelines from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Trump should not be in the Oval Office.

The guidelines say anyone “sick or infected” with Covid-19 “should separate themselves from others by staying in a specific ‘sick room.’”

Trump, whose election campaign has been hit hard by his handling of the pandemic, however, has been looking for ways to get his election message out, Reuters reported, citing his advisers.

He is scheduled to appear in a TV interview which would be aired by Fox Business Network on Thursday.

According to national opinion polls, the president trails Democratic rival Joe Biden, with the Democratic challenger showing an advantage in battleground states critical to winning the Electoral College.

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