Donald Trump has donned a face mask to visit recuperating military personnel at the Walter Reed military hospital, in a rare nod to the coronavirus pandemic.
Health experts agree that face masks are useful at stopping the spread of COVID-19.
The president has repeatedly shrugged off suggestions of wearing a mask, saying that it causes people to touch their face too much and so is not helpful.
People close to him have told The Associated Press that the president feared a mask would make him look weak and was concerned that it shifted focus to the public health crisis rather than the economic recovery.
As he left the White House on Saturday afternoon he told reporters: 'When you’re in a hospital, especially, I think it’s expected to wear a mask.'
Trump told Fox News on Thursday that he would wear a face mask during the trip.
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