Washington -

US President Donald Trump, who has avoided being seen wearing a face covering in public, said on Thursday he expects to wear a mask when he next visits US troops at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center outside Washington.

"I expect to be wearing a mask when I go into Walter Reed. You're in a hospital setting. I think it's a very appropriate thing. I have no problem with a mask," Trump told Fox News in an interview.

Trump said he would be visiting wounded soldiers as well as front-line workers seeking to contain the COVID-19 pandemic when he visits the government medical facility in Bethesda, Maryland.

Trump did not say when he would visit, and the White House did not immediately respond to a query about his schedule.

CNN has previously reported Trump plans to go on Saturday.

It was unclear whether Trump might be photographed wearing a mask since such visits are often closed to the media to protect the privacy of the wounded soldiers.