US President Wore A Facemask In Public For The First Time

Finally yielding to intense pressure to set a public health example as the COVID-19 rampages across the US. US President Trump had on a dark mask featuring the presidential seal as he walked through the corridors of Walter Reed military hospital outside Washington to meet with wounded veterans.

"I've never been against masks but I do believe they have a time and a place," Trump said as he left the White House.

"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 tables, I think it's a great thing to wear a mask," Trump told reporters.

Trump has steadfastly defended his administration's handling of the pandemic even though the US is the hardest-hit country in the world. The country has recently seen several days of more than 60,000 new cases, nearly 135,000 people have died and states have been left to figure out on their own how to reopen without a clear and coherent strategy from the White House.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend people wear masks in public when they cannot engage in social distancing.