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White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has been diagnosed with coronavirus.
Meadows was at a party at the White House on election night and was seen without a mask.
He has frequently appeared at events without covering his face and has accompanied the president in the last days of campaign rallies.
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Meadows appeared in public for the last time Wednesday morning, again without a mask, as the president tried to claim victory in the election.
The diagnosis was confirmed Friday by two senior White House officials.
Another senior campaign official, Nick Trainer, also tested positive, a source told Reuters news agency.
The condition of Mr. Meadows and the circumstances of how he could have been infected are unclear as of now.
He is the last of Trump’s inner circle to test positive.
In addition to himself, President Melania’s wife and son Barron also had the virus, as did national security adviser Robert O’Brien, Mike Pence’s chief of staff Marc Short, and former presidential adviser Kellyanne Conway.
At least 11 people at a White House event in September also tested positive
In September, at least 11 people who attended a White House event to announce Trump’s Supreme Court candidate also it tested positive.
Guests were seen embracing, punching fists, and without masks.
America’s leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, later described it as a “Super diffuser event”.
There have been more than 236,000 coronavirus-related deaths in the US so far this year, according to Johns Hopkins University, and new cases have risen significantly in the past two weeks.
The seven-day average in America is now around 95,000 a day.
Joe Biden – talking on friday night when he looked on the verge of winning the election, he said cases were “skyrocketing.”
“I want everyone to know that on the first day we are going to implement our plan to control this virus,” he said.
“That may not save any of the lives that have been lost, but it will save many lives in the coming months.”
Trump has argued that the travel restrictions he introduced at the start of the pandemic saved thousands of lives.
However, his early refusal to wear a mask is one of the many things criticized by those who oppose his handling of the crisis.
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