(KRON) — President Donald Trump is set to get a live medical evaluation on Fox News on Friday night, according to the network.
Dr. Marc Siegel, a Fox News contributor, will evaluate Trump and interview him during Tucker Carlson Tonight, the network announced.
While the White House has shared video updates from the president since he tested positive for coronavirus last week, this is the first time he’s appearing for a live camera interview.
Trump was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Oct. 1. He completed treatment Thursday, according to his latest medical update, and he said he doesn’t think he’s contagious anymore. Trump also said Thursday that he was still taking dexamethasone, a steroid that can reduce fevers.
Medical experts say it’s impossible to know whether the president is still contagious a week after his diagnosis.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most people with the virus can stop isolating about 10 days after they first showed symptoms if they have improved, they have not had a fever for 24 hours and are no longer on fever medication.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, said two negative lab tests 24 hours apart are a key factor in determining whether someone is still contagious.
“So, if the president goes 10 days without symptoms, and they do the tests that we were talking about, then you could make the assumption, based on good science, that he is not infected,” Fauci said Thursday on MSNBC.
While reports of reinfection are rare, the CDC recommends that even people who recover from COVID-19 continue to wear a mask, stay distanced and follow other precautions. It was unclear if Trump, who eschewed mask-wearing in most settings, would abide by that guidance.
The White House, meanwhile, continued to decline to share when Trump last tested negative for the virus — which would help pinpoint when he was infected. Strategic communications director Alyssa Farah said that information was Trump’s “private medical history.”
Trump’s campaign and the White House were already drawing up plans for Trump to resume campaigning, eyeing a visit to Pennsylvania on Monday and Michigan on Tuesday ahead of what was to have been next Thursday’s debate.
But the Commission on Presidential Debates announced that event would be held “virtually” in order to “protect the health and safety of all involved.” Trump swiftly rejected that offer, and his campaign later called on the commission to delay the final two debates by a week to alleviate concerns about an in-person contest.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
