The surprise trip by the US President, Donald Trump, who is receiving treatment for COVID-19 to wave at his supporters, has sparked criticism that he was endangering the lives of others for a political stunt.

President Trump on Sunday was captured on video waving from the back seat of a black SUV wearing a face mask, as his supporters cheered and waved at him outside Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in the Washington suburb of Bethesda, Maryland.

Two persons were also seen in the vehicle’s front seats wearing facemasks.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), victims of COVID-19 are required to quarantine for 14 days, the typical incubation period for the virus, to avoid infecting others.

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Trump on Friday, October 2, announced that he and his wife, Melania Trump had tested positive for COVID-19, and said that they would begin quarantine and recovery process immediately.

On the same day, the White House announced that the President is taking an experimental drug designed to mitigate the effect of coronavirus on his health.

Prior to the brief ride, Trump posted a video on Twitter saying : " I will pay a little surprise to the some of the great patriots on the street, they have been out there for a long time, they got Trump’s flag, they love our country."

White House spokesman Judd Deere described the drive as a "short, last-minute motorcade ride to wave to his supporters" and said Trump quickly returned to his hospital suite.

Deere said "appropriate precautions were taken before the ride to protect the President and those supporting him. The movement was cleared by the medical team as safe to do."

Following the drive, an attending physician at Walter Reed, James Philips amongst others has condemned the move by the President. 

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"Every single person in the vehicle during that completely unnecessary Presidential 'drive-by' just now has to be quarantined for 14 days." 

James Phillips, who is also an assistant professor of emergency medicine at George Washington University's medical school, said: “They might get sick. They may die. For political theatre. Commanded by Trump to put their lives at risk for theatre. This is insanity."

Senator Brian Schatz, a Hawaii Democrat, added that he was praying for the health of Trump's Secret Service security detail: "They understood the risk inherent in the job, but they shouldn't have to contemplate that the risk is coming from the protectee."

The White House Correspondents Association issued a statement saying it was "outrageous that Trump left the hospital without a press pool present. The American public deserves independent coverage of the president so they can be reliably informed about his health."

On Monday, October 5, health experts said that Trump’s condition remained unclear and warned that his case may be severe.

It was gathered that the Republican President is being treated with a steroid, dexamethasone that is normally used only for severe cases.

However, his medical team told newsmen on Monday that Trump could return to the White House on Monday.

Corroborating this, White House Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows on Monday, reiterated that Trump might be discharged shortly from the hospital.

“He will meet his doctors and nurses this morning to make further assessment of his progress. We are Optimistic that he will be able to return to the White House later today,” Meadows said.

CNN quoted a White House Official as saying, Melania Trump is also not considering leaving the white house.

Dr Sean P. Conley, the White House physician, had on Sunday acknowledged that Trump’s condition had worsened than previously admitted.

Conley revealed that the President remains fatigued but in good spirit.