BETHESDA, Md. (AP) — President Donald Trump said Monday he’s leaving the military hospital where he has been receiving an unprecedented level of care for COVID-19, declaring that despite his illness the nation should not be afraid of the virus that has killed more than 210,000 Americans.

Trump’s doctor, Navy Cdr. Sean Conley, said the president would not be fully “out of the woods” for another week but Trump had met or exceeded standards for discharge from the hospital. Trump is expected to continue his recovery at the White House, where the reach of the outbreak that has infected the highest levels of the U.S. government is still being uncovered.

Trump himself made a point of sounding confident. He tweeted, “I will be leaving the great Walter Reed Medical Center today at 6:30 P.M. Feeling really good! Don’t be afraid of Covid. Don’t let it dominate your life. … I feel better than I did 20 years ago!”

Trump’s message that people shouldn’t fear the virus alarmed infectious disease experts and suggested the president’s own illness had not caused him to rethink his often-cavalier attitude toward the disease, which has also infected the first lady and several White House aides, including new cases revealed on Monday.

“We have to be realistic in this: COVID is a complete threat to the American population,” said Dr. David Nace of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, an expert on infections in older adults.