Virus alert at White House
Fauci and two other members of Covid-19 task force now in quarantine after contact
Three members of the White House coronavirus task force, including Dr Anthony Fauci, placed themselves in quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for Covid-19. It is another stark reminder that not even one of the nation’s most secure buildings is immune from the virus.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a leading member of the task force, has become nationally known for his simple and direct explanations about Covid-19. Also in quarantine are Dr Robert Redfield, director of the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Stephen Hahn.
Fauci’s institute said he has tested negative for Covid-19 and will continue to be tested regularly. It added he is considered at “relatively low risk” based on the degree of his exposure, and that he would be “taking appropriate precautions”. Although he will stay at home and telework, Fauci will go to the White House if called and take every precaution, the institute said.
Redfield will be “teleworking for the next two weeks” after it was determined he had a “low risk exposure” to a person at the White House, the CDC said, adding that he has no symptoms.
Just a few hours earlier, the FDA confirmed Hahn had come in contact with someone who tested positive and was in self-quarantine for the next two weeks. He tested negative.
All three men are scheduled to testify before a Senate committee on Tuesday, probably by videoconference.
Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary Katie Miller tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus last week. White House officials had earlier confirmed a member of the military serving as one of Trump’s valets had tested positive for Covid-19 on
Wednesday.
President Donald Trump said he was “not worried” about the virus spreading in the White House. Nonetheless, officials said they were stepping up safety protocols for the complex.
Miller had been in recent contact with Pence but not with the President and had tested negative a day earlier. She is married to Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser. The White House had no immediate comment on whether Stephen Miller had been tested or if he was still working in the White House.
Trump has resisted wearing a mask, and in a meeting with the nation’s top military leaders on Saturday evening, he did not wear a mask during the brief portion that reporters were allowed to view. The generals around Trump also did not wear a mask, but participants did sit a few feet away from each other.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said the administration was stepping up mitigation efforts already recommended by public health experts.
The White House requires daily temperature checks of anyone who enters the White House complex and has encouraged social distancing among those working in the building. The administration has also directed regular deep cleaning of all work spaces. Anyone who comes in close proximity to the President and vice-president is tested daily for Covid19.
Trump’s valet’s case marked the first known instance where a person who has come in close proximity to the President has tested positive since several people present at his private Florida club were diagnosed with Covid-19 in early March.