SAN DIEGO — Rep. Scott Peters, D-San Diego, said Monday that he's glad President Donald Trump appears to be responding well to treatment for COVID-19, but criticized the president's "reckless rhetoric" regarding the dangers of the virus. News 8 also spoke to a local doctor about the president's condition.
In announcing via Twitter earlier Monday that he would within hours be leaving Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he'd been hospitalized since Friday, Trump wrote, "Feeling really good! Don't be afraid of Covid. Don't let it dominate your life. We have developed, under the Trump Administration, some really great drugs & knowledge. I feel better than I did 20 years ago!"
Peters issued a statement in which he said he was "heartened" to hear Trump was improving, but questioned his remarks regarding the state of COVID-19.
"To suggest that we shouldn't be 'afraid' dishonors every single American who has lost someone to this pandemic," Peters wrote. "More than 210,000 lives have been tragically lost to COVID-19 -- parents, children, husbands, wives, family and friends lost forever. Those families are devastated and the rest of us are indeed afraid of similar loss."
Peters also questioned Trump's statements through the lens of the medical care the president received, which the congressman said far exceeds that which is available to regular citizens.
"The president received the highest-quality care in the world and is feeling better. That does not mean we can disregard the gravity of this disease," Peters wrote. "Most people can't fly via helicopter to a specially dedicated, state-of-the-art hospital suite, nor can they acquire multiple experimental drugs when things take a turn. I encourage San Diegans to trust the science that tells us to continue to be vigilant."
Encinitas Dr. Becca Rodriguez Regner told News 8 what to expect now that the president has been discharged from the hospital.
"With President Trump going home, we're looking at his stability," she said. "We're looking at vital signs; what does his temperature look like?"
She said CDC guidelines include keeping a mask on when near anyone.
"The N-95 mask should be worn as he transfers back to the White House and those around him [should be] wearing the same N-95 to protect each other and make sure none of the virus is spread," Rodriguez Regner said.
The president's team of doctors said he's not out of the woods yet but he's surrounded by world-class medical care.
Trump's treatment has included dexamethasone, remdesivir and an infusion of an experimental antibody cocktail from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc. Following his discharge, he is expected to continue treatment at the White House.