US President, Donald Trump, briefly left Walter Reed Medical Center in Maryland on Sunday, where he is being treated for COVID-19, so he could greet the crowds waiting outside the hospital.
He reportedly sat in an armoured SUV, wearing a mask, and waved to people as he was driven along the road to cheers and flag-waving.
Dr James Phillips, chief of disaster medicine at George Washington University and an attending physician at Walter Reed Medical Center, described the drive-by as “insanity”.
He wrote on Twitter: “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. The irresponsibility is astounding. My thoughts are with the Secret Service forced to play.
“Every single person in the vehicle during that completely unnecessary presidential ‘drive-by’ just now has to be quarantined for 14 days. They might get sick. They may die. For political theater. Commanded by Trump to put their lives at risk for theater. This is insanity.”
Critics say the drive-by was a bad idea which put staff at risk
Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University, tweeted: “By taking a joy ride outside Walter Reed the president is placing his Secret Service detail at grave risk.
“In the hospital when we go into close contact with a COVID patient we dress in full PPE: Gown, gloves, N95, eye protection, hat. This is the height of irresponsibility.
“His doctors should have said no. They need to stand up for what is right. This is wrong.”
White House spokesman Judd Deere said the drive-by “was cleared by the medical team as safe to do”, adding that precautions were taken, including using personal protective equipment.
