What did the president do?

Mr Trump waved to well-wishers from behind the glass of a sealed car after tweeting that he would leave Walter Reed hospital, near Washington, to pay a “surprise visit” to “patriots” outside. Inside the car, at least two people could be seen wearing protective gear in the front seats, with Mr Trump sat in the back.

Experts say the president’s short car trip broke public health advice to quarantine when seeking treatment for the virus, and may have put Secret Service agents inside the vehicle at risk of infection.

“That Presidential SUV is not only bulletproof, but hermetically sealed against chemical attack. The risk of Covid-19 transmission inside is as high as it gets outside of medical procedures,” tweeted Dr James Philips, a doctor at the same hospital where the president is being treated.

Those inside the president’s car would now need to quarantine for 14 days, he said.

Democrats have also criticised the trip, with House of Representatives Hakeem Jeffries tweeting: “We need leadership. Not photo ops.”

But the White House’s Judd Deere defended the move, saying “appropriate precautions were taken in the execution of this movement to protect the president and all those supporting it, including PPE [personal protective equipment]”.

Meanwhile, NBC News reports that Melania Trump, who has remained at the White House with mild symptoms, decided against visiting her husband in hospital because of the risks to staff.

“She has Covid,” an unnamed official told NBC on Saturday. “That would expose the agents who would drive her there and the medical staff who would walk her up to him.”

It emerged the president’s condition was more serious than previously reported when he went to hospital on Friday evening.

The White House had said Mr Trump was experiencing “mild symptoms” of Covid-19, but then it was confirmed that he had received extra oxygen after his levels dipped twice in two days.

He was also given the steroid dexamethasone, which is normally reserved for serious cases, according to experts.

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