Major White House cleanup planned

President-elect Joe Biden is planning a US$500,000 deep-clean of the White House after Donald Trump's inner circle went through multiple COVID-19 outbreaks in the fall.

A thorough cleaning of the building is common procedure before a new administration takes office, but due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Biden team seems to be taking extra precautions.

In October, Trump announced that he and the First Lady had tested positive for COVID-19, along with more than a dozen members of Trump's inner circle, including his press secretary and campaign manager. Since then, the White House has reported three COVID-19 breakouts, affecting more than 53 people, including administration officials, campaign staffers and close contacts.

Trump has been criticized for not properly following public health guidelines during the pandemic, even after he contracted COVID-19. “With the fake news, everything is COVID, COVID, COVID,” said Trump at a rally in Nebraska in October. “I had it. Here I am, right?”

Normally, the White House cleaning is conducted during the six hours when the presidential inauguration takes place, and it's carried out by butlers, housekeepers and other White House staff.

This year, the Biden team hired outside companies to do much of the cleaning. It's unclear whether these additional services will be paid by the campaign or taxpayers.

The services include a US$127,249 contract for what was called the 2021 Inaugural Cleaning; US$44,038 in carpet cleaning, and curtain cleaning in the East and West Wing costing US$29,523, CNN first reported.

In November, the General Services Administration organized regular “misting” of disinfectant throughout the White House grounds and offices, including the briefing room, CNN said.

This year's cleaning crews will still only have approximately six hours during the inauguration to clean, but they will have more work to do, considering the White House has 132 rooms, 147 windows, 35 bathrooms, 16 bedrooms and 412 doors.