WASHINGTON, D.C., USA — In a Sunday morning Tweet, Senator Susan Collins said she tested negative for COVID-19.
"I have tested negative for COVID. Although I had almost no contact with my three colleagues who have tested positive, I thought it prudent to get tested," she said. "My thoughts are with the President, FLOTUS, my colleagues & all who are infected."
The colleagues Collins references in the Tweet are Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. All three have announced they've tested positive for the virus.
President Donald Trump went through a “very concerning” period Friday and faces a “critical” next two days in his fight against COVID-19 at a military hospital, his chief of staff said Saturday — in contrast to a rosier assessment moments earlier by Trump doctors, who took pains not to reveal the president had received supplemental oxygen at the White House before his hospital admission.
Trump remained at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Sunday. He offered his own assessment of his status Saturday evening in a video from his hospital suite, saying he was beginning to feel better and hoped to “be back soon.”
Hours earlier, chief of staff Mark Meadows told reporters outside the hospital, “We're still not on a clear path yet to a full recovery.” In an update Saturday night, Trump's chief doctor expressed cautious optimism but added that the president was "not yet out of the woods.”
The changing, and at times contradictory, accounts created a credibility crisis for the White House at a crucial moment, with the president’s health and the nation’s leadership on the line. With Trump expected to remain hospitalized several more days and the presidential election looming, his condition is being anxiously watched by Americans.