WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 12th July, 2020) US President Donald Trump wore a mask while visiting the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, which is the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic that Trump was seen with a face covering in public.
"I think when you're in a hospital, especially in that particular setting where you're talking to a lot of soldiers and people that in some cases just got off the operating table, I think it's a great thing to wear a mask," Trump told reporters on the White House South Lawn on Saturday, as quoted in a White House release, before departing for Walter Reed.
"I've never been against masks but I do believe they have a time and a place," the president said.
The Walter Reed military hospital requires visitors to wear masks as a means of preventing the spread of the coronavirus, when maintaining a safe social distance is not possible.
Trump met wounded soldiers and healthcare workers at the medical facility on Saturday. Photos from the visit show him wearing a navy blue face mask with a golden presidential seal on the side.
Trump had previously refused to wear a face mask in public, despite government recommendations. Trump has also mocked Joe Biden for wearing a mask. The White House has said that mask wearing is not necessary for the US president and those close to him as they are regularly tested for COVID-19.
