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Johns Hopkins Doctor Among Those Assisting With COVID-19 Treatment Plan For President Trump

BETHESDA, Md. (AP/WJZ) -- A Johns Hopkins doctor is among those assisting with the COVID-19 treatment plan for President Donald Trump.

Dr. Brian Garibaldi, director of the Biocontainment Unit at Johns Hopkins, "is consulting with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center experts and the White House Medical Unit to assist with the COVID-19 treatment plan for President Trump."

A Johns Hopkins spokesperson issued the following statement to WJZ on Saturday:

"Dr. Brian Garibaldi, director of the Biocontainment Unit at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland is consulting with Walter Reed National Military Medical Center experts and the White House Medical Unit to assist with the COVID-19 treatment plan for President Donald Trump. Johns Hopkins Medicine is committed to providing the highest level of medical expertise to assist in the care of the President."

President Trump's doctors held a press conference Saturday at Walter Reed Medical Center, where the president was transported Friday. They said he was doing very well and his symptoms were improving.

A person familiar with President Trump's COVID-19 illness, however, says some of his vital signs over the past 24 hours were "very concerning" but they've improved since he was admitted to a military hospital.

The person has knowledge of the president's medical condition but was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

It contradicted President Trump's doctors, who said during a press conference Saturday that the president was doing very well and felt as though he could walk out of a military hospital.

They said he had not been on oxygen Saturday or when he was with their medical team Friday, and that his symptoms were subsiding.

President Trump was admitted to Walter Reed Medical Center on Friday after saying he had contracted COVID-19. First lady Melania Trump also has fallen ill.

The person described the next 48 hours as critical and said there was no clear path yet on recovery and that it could be days before he was discharged.

(© Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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