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Three members of the White House coronavirus task force isolate themselves for two weeks after possible exposure to the disease.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has become the public face of the fight against the virus in the United States, is one of those to be quarantined.
His agency, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he was at “relatively low risk” due to the degree of exposure.
Dr. Fauci has tested negative.
The 79-year-old man will work from home for now and will be regularly examined, the institute said.
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Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary Katie Miller, the wife of Trump’s aide Stephen Miller, tested positive Friday.
His diagnosis came after a valet for the President of the United States, Donald Trump, was confirmed to have the disease.
Who insulates himself?
Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Stephen Hahn, are also self-isolating.
In a statement, the CDC said Dr. Redfield, 68, had no symptoms and was not feeling bad, but that he would also be telecommuting for two weeks after a “low risk exposure” to someone in the White House. It is not clear who this person is.
And an FDA spokesman told Reuters news agency on Friday that Stephen Hahn, 60, was also isolating himself. It has also tested negative, the spokesman said.
The three men were due to address a Senate committee on Tuesday.
Before the news about Dr. Fauci was made public, the committee chairman, Senator Lamar Alexander, said Dr. Redfield and Dr. Hahn could testify via video link.
What is the situation in the United States?
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the United States has 1.3 million confirmed cases and has recorded 78,794 deaths, by far the highest total in the world.
Many states adopted shutdown measures in March to try to contain the outbreak. But now some have lifted the restrictions to allow people to return to work, a move that health officials fear could further spread the virus.
Former United States President Barack Obama harshly criticized his successor’s response to the crisis. During a private phone call to former employees, Obama called the response “an absolute chaotic mess.”
Last week, Trump said he would refocus the White House task force on boosting the U.S. economy, a day after suggesting it would dissolve it.
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