White House becomes focus of Covid-19 and worries employees



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WASHINGTON – The government of United States President Donald Trump is quick to try to contain a Covid-19 outbreak within the White House, and some senior officials believe the disease is spreading rapidly through the narrow offices. spanning the three floors of the White House. West wing.

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Three senior government officials leading the government’s coronavirus operation began two weeks of self-isolation after two White House staff members: Katie Miller, spokeswoman for Vice President Mike Pence, and one of President Donald’s personal assistants Trump received the news that his tests for the disease were positive. But others who had contact with Miller and the assistant continue to work normally at the White House.

“It’s scary to go to work,” he said. Kevin Hassett, one of the president’s top financial advisers, in an interview with CBS’s “The Face” show on Sunday. Hassett said he wore a mask multiple times, but acknowledged that “he would be safer sitting at home than going to the west wing.”

He went further.

– It is a small and crowded place. It is, as we know, a bit risky. But you have to do this because you have to serve your country.

The discovery of two infected employees prompted the White House to tighten its procedures to combat the coronavirus, including daily testing for the elderly, wearing masks, and increased supervision of who enters the complex.

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Concern about a virus outbreak at the White House, and frequent infection tests and analyzes being done to contain it, underscores the challenge for Americans as Trump urges them to begin returning to their jobs, despite the Warnings from experts and public health officials that the virus continues to wreak havoc on communities across the country.

Most restaurants, offices and shops do not have the ability to regularly screen their employees and track and quarantine all contacts of an infected person. At the White House, everyone is tested at least every week, and people who interact with the president are screened daily.

“To meet with the president, you must have a negative test,” Hassett said on CNN Sunday.

On the other hand, Trump still refuses to follow the advice of the Center for Disease Control (CDC) wear a mask when meeting with groups of people. But a government official said the president was terrified to learn that his assistant, who is among the people serving his food, was not wearing a mask. He was still annoyed to learn that Miller was infected and angered people who are very close to him, the official said.

Two other members of the government say that, at the moment, there are no plans to keep Trump and Pence separate for fear that the two are disabled by Covid-19.

Isolation

Concern over the spread of the virus in the White House has sidelined, at least temporarily, three of the top members of the coronavirus task force: Robert Redfield, director of the CDC; Stephen Hahn, Commissioner of the Medicines and Drug Agency (FDA), the equivalent of Anvisa in the United States; and Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

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Redfield and Hahn announced over the weekend that they would be isolated for two weeks after contacting the president’s team member who is with Covid-19. The two attended a meeting in the Situation Room last week when Katie Miller was present. Both said they were still working from home, and Republican Senator Lamar Alexander said they would attend a Senate hearing Tuesday by video conference.

Fauci said he initiated a “modified quarantine” after having what he called “low-risk contact” with an infected employee.

Stephen Miller, one of the closest advisers to the president and husband of Katie Miller, is also unlikely to appear at the White House for some time, according to people close to him. Her test was negative on Friday after she was diagnosed with the disease.

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Most tests in the west wing are carried out using equipment from Abbott Laboratories, which detect the presence of the virus in a few minutes. Other employees underwent traditional tests, which use long swabs inserted into the nose and take a few hours to process.

Some memoranda for those who work at the White House encouraged “telecommuting whenever possible.” But some sectors went further over the weekend, asking minor press employees to work from home, whether or not they have symptoms. In the east wing, officials working with First Lady Melania Trump and the President on personal matters wear masks.

Some government officials say they are asking their subordinates to stay home if they feel remotely ill, something that runs counter to the traditional impulses of those who work for the president, which is to continue working at any cost.

Secret Service members who work in the White House wear masks regularly. And people entering the complex will be asked if they have any of the symptoms. People closest to Trump, such as Kayleigh McEnany, White House press secretary, Mark Meadows, chief of staff, and Hope Hicks, counselor, are tested daily.

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