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The United States Secret Service, which protects President Donald Trump, President-elect Joe Biden and the White House was affected by a covid-19 outbreak, US media reported Friday.
The Washington Post newspaper said that more than 130 Secret Service agents were infected by coronavirus or are in quarantine due to contact with infected people.
The outbreak came after numerous agents traveled to campaign rallies with Trump, in which top officials and most attendees remained without masks.
It also follows several events at the White House in the past three weeks led by Trump, including a party on Election Night Nov. 3, where most of those present were also not wearing masks.
Subsequently, several government officials reported that they had tested positive for COVID-19, including Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows.
The New York Times newspaper said at least 30 Secret Service officers had tested positive in recent weeks in a “sustained” outbreak, and about 60 were quarantined.
It was the latest in several waves of infections to hit the service since the pandemic hit the United States.
Several agents were forced to self-quarantine after an act by Trump in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in June.
In July, at a meeting in Tampa, Florida, other officers tested positive for the new coronavirus.
An outbreak was also recorded at the service’s training academy in Maryland.
The Secret Service has about 7,000 employees, including the uniformed agents who monitor the White House and presidential events and the famous civilian bodyguards dressed in suits who remain close to the president, vice president, president-elect and others, pledging to “receive a bullet ”instead.
When asked about the reports, Secret Service spokeswoman Julie McMurray said no details about the COVID-19 infections will be released “for privacy and operational security reasons.”
“The health and safety of our workforce is paramount,” he commented.
“We continually assess the requirements necessary to operate during the pandemic and ensure that we are fully prepared and staffed to carry out our critical protection and investigation missions, none of which have been degraded by the pandemic,” he said.
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