Ike’s Eatery, located in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, and the New Executive Office Building cafeteria have been temporarily closed, although the email reported that the risk of transmission is low due to precautions such as gloves and masks.
“There is no reason for panic or alarm,” says the email.
There is a cafeteria in the west wing of the White House, but dozens of the president’s employees walk to Ike’s to eat. The email says they tracked contacts, and states that no executive office staff needs to be quarantined due to the exposure.
Still, news of yet another positive test for coronavirus on the White House grounds underscores the unique challenge employees face in trying to keep the pandemic out of the West Wing as the president pushes to reopen the country.
In conversations at the time, Trump expressed concern that attendees contracting coronaviruses would undermine his message that the outbreak is on the decline and states should start reopening, according to a person who had spoken to him.
Since then, the White House has done everything possible to prevent Trump and Vice President Mike Pence from contracting the virus, even when traveling to states where cases are emerging.
Earlier this week, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEneny described Trump as the “most proven man in America,” who is not at risk of spreading the virus to others.
“He has done more tests than anyone, several times a day,” he said. “And we believe it is acting appropriately.”
“I don’t know about more than one,” Trump replied to a journalist who asked why he was tested more than once a day. “Probably, on average, I do a test every other day, three days, and I don’t know of any time that I’ve taken two in one day, but I could see that happening.”
This story has been updated with additional information on Wednesday.
CNN’s Paul LeBlanc and Kevin Liptak contributed to this report.
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