More than 20 people in and around the White House have recently tested positive for the coronavirus — including President Donald Trump himself.
The president announced on Friday, October 2, after midnight that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, joining several other high-ranking US government officials who have contracted SARS-CoV-2. Trump went to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, on Friday evening to undergo treatment. He was discharged on Monday, October 5.
On Tuesday, Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser, reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus. His case was just the latest revealed among top White House officials. Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tested positive on Monday for the coronavirus; four of her aides reportedly also have tested positive. McEnany — like others in the White House cluster — failed to immediately quarantine after Trump’s diagnosis, and she appeared in front of reporters without a mask in the following days.
McEnany and other Republican officials attended a White House event on September 26 honoring the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. GOP Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina announced after Trump’s diagnosis that they had tested positive; both were at the event, which took place indoors and outdoors. Several other people, including former senior White House counselor Kellyanne Conway and Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien, also tested positive after attending the event.
Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, another attendee, announced that he tested positive and checked into a hospital.
Barrett, for her part, was diagnosed with Covid-19 over the summer but has recovered. It is unknown whether she now carries immunity.
But it’s not just the one event. On Saturday, October 3, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) announced he had tested positive. Johnson was not at the Barrett event, but he did attend a lunch with other Republican senators last week.
Beyond the relatively well-known senators, members of the press, and White House officials who have tested positive, less well-known government staff members and security officers have been infected with the coronavirus in recent days. A number of such cases have been confirmed, including McEnany’s deputies, Trump aide Nicholas Luna, and military officials assigned to the White House. Vice Commandant Charles Ray of the Coast Guard tested positive on Monday, and other military leaders entered quarantine.
The White House, in other words, is now a Covid-19 hot spot. And the administration appears to be doing little to trace the outbreak, creating concern that the White House will become a source of community spread. At least one likely secondary infection has been reported: New York Times journalist Michael Shear, who traveled with the president the evening after the Barrett event and tested positive shortly after, said his wife tested positive following his diagnosis.
While it’s not clear how the president was exposed, Trump was in regular contact last week with senior counselor Hope Hicks, whose positive coronavirus test was revealed on Thursday, October 1. Hicks had…
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