# President, First Lady both test positive for COVID-19 \[Quarantine Zone: No politics.\] **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [October 2, 2020, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-first-lady-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-quarantine-zone-no-politics/922047 "2020-10-02T15:42:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-first-lady-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-quarantine-zone-no-politics/922047/1 "2020-10-02T15:42:55Z")
Having so long denied that it was a big deal, I guess he’s about to find out. > **[Trump's positive Covid-19 test throws country into fresh upheaval | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/02/politics/president-donald-trump-coronavirus-positive-test/index.html)** > > President Donald Trump has had a fever since Friday morning after testing positive for coronavirus, according to a person familiar with the matter, a stunning development that threw a country already unnerved by a devastating health catastrophe and a... ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-first-lady-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-quarantine-zone-no-politics/922047/2 "2020-10-02T16:43:55Z")
I think there are at least two threads about this already. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-first-lady-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-quarantine-zone-no-politics/922047/3 "2020-10-02T17:00:48Z")
Thanks, but I saw none in TQZ. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-first-lady-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-quarantine-zone-no-politics/922047/4 "2020-10-02T17:23:38Z")
[Here’s one](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/cue-up-shocking-blue-or-bananarama-theyve-got-it-yeah-baby-theyve-got-it/922014). It’s also mentioned in the Breaking News thread. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-first-lady-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-quarantine-zone-no-politics/922047/5 "2020-10-02T22:50:46Z")
Since the OP of the other thread had political commentary and a non-descriptive title, I closed it. Let’s restrict this as much as possible to discussion of the disease itself. Political commentary should go in this thread in Politics and Elections. > [@Trump and Melania test positive for COVID-19](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/trump-and-melania-test-positive-for-covid-19/922010/292): > > I think the opposite. Trump lingering in ill health until January is what I’m hoping for. If he’s quite ill, but remains in office and remains on the ticket, it keeps his stupidity and mishandling of COVID front and center, and it keeps the Republican campaign and strategy in uncertainty and disarray with nowhere really to go. I think it’s a certainty he loses. And it makes it somewhat less likely that he’ll have the energy or inclination to cause harm to the country - either through med… ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-first-lady-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-quarantine-zone-no-politics/922047/6 "2020-10-02T23:00:54Z")
" [President Donald Trump](http://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-coronavirus-positive/index.html) arrived Friday evening at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where the White House says he will remain hospitalized for “the next few days.”" > **[Trump taken to Walter Reed medical center and will be hospitalized 'for the...](https://www.cnn.com/2020/10/02/politics/president-donald-trump-walter-reed-coronavirus/index.html)** > > President Donald Trump is being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for Covid-19 and has begun receiving an anti-viral drug, his doctor announced Friday night. " In a statement, the President’s spokeswoman said Trump “remains in good spirits, has mild symptoms, and has been working throughout the day.” “Out of an abundance of caution, and at the recommendation of his physician and medical experts, the President will be working from the presidential offices at Walter Reed for the next few days,” press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said." Doesn’t this double standard make you angry? The President has some mild symptoms and they put him in a hospital while another 7 or so million Americans (out of 7 1/2 million cases) also have mild symptoms and they don’t bother to put them in the hospital. ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-first-lady-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-quarantine-zone-no-politics/922047/7 "2020-10-02T23:10:09Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Doesn’t this double standard make you angry? Well, no. Just like everyone else doesn’t get a Secret Service detail and private aircraft on standby to get around on. Whatever Trump’s personal failings, the office rightly comes with certain privileges. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-first-lady-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-quarantine-zone-no-politics/922047/8 "2020-10-02T23:33:54Z")
The newspapers say so far his case looks mild but his age and weight put him at high risk. If he is put on a ventilator, is that enough to trigger the 25th Amendment? (I don’t think that’s a political question.) ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2020, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-first-lady-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-quarantine-zone-no-politics/922047/9 "2020-10-02T23:57:27Z")
If you mean, will it trigger his removal from office, I think not. If you mean, will it trigger the temporary transfer of power to Pence, it’s possible depending on the treatment and its effects. I think a permanent transfer would require that Pence and the Cabinet determine that Trump will either not recover at all or will be unable to execute his duties even if he does recover. And that’s not a given. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-first-lady-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-quarantine-zone-no-politics/922047/10 "2020-10-03T00:45:15Z")
Actually, I was thinking of a temporary transfer of power. Can the POTUS (any POTUS) govern while on a ventilator? Often this involves being sedated. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-first-lady-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-quarantine-zone-no-politics/922047/11 "2020-10-03T02:52:47Z")
I don’t know, but this topic is probably better addressed in the Politics and Elections forum. (I am not a mod, nor do I play one on TV or in my daydreams.) ---
**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-first-lady-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-quarantine-zone-no-politics/922047/12 "2020-10-03T03:16:06Z")
A request to the mods - with something fast moving like this, if we’re going to have a separate thread in Quarantine Zone where we don’t want political discussion, could you make the thread title a bit different to make it a bit clearer which thread we’re in? The two thread titles are almost exactly the same, and many of us look at “Latest” rather than via the subforums. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-first-lady-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-quarantine-zone-no-politics/922047/13 "2020-10-03T03:51:51Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > The newspapers say so far his case looks mild but his age and weight put him at high risk. If he is put on a ventilator, is that enough to trigger the 25th Amendment? (I don’t think that’s a political question.) This discussion belongs in Politics and Elections. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-first-lady-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-quarantine-zone-no-politics/922047/14 "2020-10-03T03:53:37Z")
> [@Riemann](#): > > A request to the mods - with something fast moving like this, if we’re going to have a separate thread in Quarantine Zone where we don’t want political discussion, could you make the thread title a bit different to make it a bit clearer which thread we’re in? The two thread titles are almost exactly the same, and many of us look at “Latest” rather than via the subforums.I added that indication to the title. We’ll see how this goes. I know with the president involved politics is somewhat inherent. Let’s try to keep this about the medical side of things. ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-first-lady-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-quarantine-zone-no-politics/922047/15 "2020-10-03T05:10:20Z")
The stay at Walter Reed, rumor has it, is to be able to better monitor and react to the experimental antibody drug Trump got. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-first-lady-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-quarantine-zone-no-politics/922047/16 "2020-10-03T21:20:25Z")
> The President’s physician says Mr Trump is “fatigued but in good spirits” after being treated with an experimental antibody cocktail. Q. Why would the initial treatment offered to POTUS be an experimental treatment? Wouldn’t the most efficacious variant of the standard treatment protocols be the starting point? ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 3, 2020, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-first-lady-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-quarantine-zone-no-politics/922047/17 "2020-10-03T21:48:19Z")
Several doctors I’ve seen on a variety of channels say that it is difficult to say how he is doing since there have not been the traditional briefings from his physician, and some questions have not been answered. So I doubt anyone here can assess the progression of the illness. However it appears that Melania has a milder case, and she is less at risk. ---
**Author:** ![Monocracy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monocracy/32/4493_2.png) [@Monocracy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monocracy)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-first-lady-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-quarantine-zone-no-politics/922047/18 "2020-10-04T00:12:04Z")
Where does this confirmed case get counted on sites like worldometer, Florida or D.C.? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [October 4, 2020, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/president-first-lady-both-test-positive-for-covid-19-quarantine-zone-no-politics/922047/19 "2020-10-04T03:10:47Z")
I would expect DC, since the superspreader event probably happened there. I’ve heard of at least 9 people testing positive in this outbreak and it’s likely there’s more.