White House outbreak amid push to reopen US
WASHINGTON – As he encourages the country to “reopen,” President Donald Trump is confronting cases of the new coronavirus in his own home, spotlighting the challenge the White House faces in instilling confidence in a nation still reeling from the pandemic.
Two known cases of COVID-19 among staffers in one of the most protected complexes in America sent three of the nation’s top medical experts into quarantine and Vice President Mike Pence into “self-isolation.” The scare comes as the White House is emphasizing to the American people the steps being taken to ensure their safety – in hopes that will coax them to resume normal activities.
“This week - you’ll hear the @WhiteHouse talk about preparedness & confidence,” tweeted Alyssa Farah, the White House director of strategic communications. “The Trump Admin is working around the clock to build our testing capacity, grow our PPE stockpiles, distribute therapeutics, & get $ to states to SAFELY reopen in a way Americans can have CONFIDENCE in.”
That message was undercut by the exposure of senior government officials to positive cases at the White House.
A memo to staff Monday directed “everyone who enters the West Wing to wear a mask or facial covering.” Staff will be allowed to remove their face coverings if they sit at least 6 feet apart from their colleagues. Trump is still not expected to wear a mask.
Pence on Monday led the White House’s weekly call with governors from an isolated room, after his press secretary tested positive Friday. Dr. Deborah Birx and other staffers participated as usual from a conference room in the Situation Room, Pence said, explaining the “slightly different circumstance.”
“We are taking the appropriate countermeasures to protect the president’s health,” Pence added, according to a recording obtained by the AP. The White House was moving to daily testing of some staff members to detect the disease.
The stepped-up protective measures came as Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Stephen Hahn, were quarantining after exposure to the White House staffer.
The three experts are scheduled to testify before a Senate panel Tuesday on “Safely Getting Back to Work and Back to School.” However, they, along with committee chairman Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., will participate remotely. Alexander is quarantining after a staff member of his tested positive for COVID-19.
The images of top administration officials taking such precautions come as states seek to loosen economic restrictions put in place to mitigate the virus’ spread.
Decisions about how fast to reopen are being made with the general election less than six months away, and Trump and other incumbents facing it in the midst of a public health and economic crisis.
“If we do this carefully, working with the governors, I don’t think there’s a considerable risk,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on “Fox News Sunday.” “Matter of fact, I think there’s a considerable risk of not reopening.”