Corona infected Trump makes surprise public appearance to greet supporters
Coronavirus infected US President Donald Trump briefly ventured out in a motorcade on Sunday after briefly leaving the military hospital to salute cheering supporters.
The move has disregarded precautions designed to support the deadly virus which has forced his hospitalisation and killed more than 209,000 Americans, reports AP.
His surprise public appearance in a drive-past to greet supporters is drawing criticisms, reports BBC.
"A lot more than 205,000 Americans are dead. We need leadership. Not photo ops," tweeted Hakeem Jeffries, chairman of the Democrats in america House of Representatives.
Wearing a mask, the president waved to well-wishers from behind the glass of a sealed car after tweeting that he'd leave Walter Reed hospital to pay a "surprise visit" to "patriots" outside.
Hours earlier, Trump’s medical team reported that his blood oxygen level dropped suddenly twice in recent days and that they gave him a steroid typically only recommended for the very sick.
Still, the doctors said, Trump’s health is bettering and that he could possibly be discharged as soon as Monday.
Earlier, it emerged that his condition was more serious than previously reported when he visited hospital Friday evening.
The White House had said Trump was experiencing "mild symptoms" of Covid-19, nonetheless it was confirmed at the weekend that he received supplemental oxygen after his levels dipped twice within two days.
He was given the steroid dexamethasone, which is generally reserved for serious cases, according to experts.
However, Trump sought to project an image of strength, tweeting images of himself appearing to work from a healthcare facility and a video message teasing his surprise drive past.
In a tweet, the president - dressed up in a suit jacket and shirt without tie - said: "I learned a whole lot about Covid. I learned it by really likely to school. This can be a real school. This is not the let's read the books school. I get it and I am aware it. It's an extremely interesting thing, I'll be letting you know about it."
The president's diagnosis, which he made public in a tweet in early stages Friday, has upended his election campaign.
“This is insanity,” Dr. James P. Phillips, an attending physician at Walter Reed who is a critic of Trump and his handling of the pandemic.
“Every single person in the automobile throughout that completely unnecessary presidential ‘drive-by’ at the moment has to be quarantined for two weeks. They could get sick. They could die. For political theater,” the physician added. “Commanded by Trump to put their lives at risk for theater.”
His doctors sidestepped questions on Sunday about specifically when Trump’s blood oxygen dropped - an episode they neglected to mention in multiple statements the day before - or whether lung scans showed any damage.
It was the second straight day of obfuscation from a White House already suffering from a credibility crisis.
And it raised more doubts about whether the doctors treating the president were sharing accurate, timely information with the American public about the severity of his condition.
