Thinking Aloud

Trump's brush with Covid-19: Amazing recovery or reckless behaviour?

His speedy 'recovery' masks the fact that testing is not a passport for acting recklessly

President Donald Trump on the Truman Balcony of the White House last Monday, after testing positive for Covid-19 the Thursday before and being flown to hospital. His message - that there is nothing to fear from the coronavirus - and the subsequent theatrics around it are all meant to present a triumphant image. PHOTO: NYTIMES
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If the medical personnel treating US President Donald Trump are to be believed - and this is a big "if" given the admitted obfuscation early on in his Covid-19 diagnosis - then the American leader is on pace to wrap up his entire ordeal with the infection in less time than a typical visitor to Singapore spends on Stay Home Notice.

The 74-year announced that he tested positive for Covid-19 two Thursdays ago, was taken to the hospital the next day, discharged last Monday and then cleared to attend public events in person as of yesterday. That is 10 days from start to finish.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on October 11, 2020, with the headline Trump's brush with Covid-19: Amazing recovery or reckless behaviour?. Subscribe