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TASK FORCE MEMBER. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC on April 29, 2020. Photo by Mandel Ngan / AFP
WASHINGTON DC, USA USA – Chief infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci is among 3 members of the White House coronavirus task force to self-isolate after possible exposure to the pathogen, US media reported Saturday, May 9.
On Friday, he reports that Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary had tested positive for positive fears about senior administration officials who contracted the virus.
Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, will self-isolate, CNN said.
But Fauci, who has become the trusted face of the government’s virus response, told the network that he would undergo a “modified quarantine” because he had not been very close to the contagious White House member.
The chief of infectious diseases at the National Institutes of Health will stay at home work and wear a mask for two weeks.
He also undergoes daily tests for coronavirus, and has so far been negative for the disease. (READ: Anthony Fauci: America’s Coronavirus ‘Hero’ Let Science Speak)
Redfield and Hahn will remain in quarantine for two weeks after exposure to a person who tested positive, according to statements by the FDA and CDC to the US media.
Officials have not disclosed the identity of the COVID-19 positive individual in contact with the task force.
Earlier in the week, United States President Donald Trump announced plans to shut down the highly visible task force, only to backtrack a day later.
Members of the group, which coordinates among medical institutes, political personnel and state governors, gave daily press conferences to inform the nation about the latest state of the pandemic.
But they were often overtaken by Trump’s question-and-answer sessions, and press conferences ended about two weeks ago.
The 3 men will still testify at Tuesday’s Senate coronavirus hearing, with Redfield and Hahn calling via video conferencing software, according to Senator Lamar Alexander, chairman of the chamber’s health committee.
Fauci is believed to be assisting with a mask, CNN reported.
The United States has recorded more than 78,000 deaths and 1.3 million infections. – Rappler.com
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