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(CNN) – The White House told staff in an email Tuesday that it had completed “all contact tracing” for the positive COVID-19 cases identified at the White House, and urged anyone who has not been contacted and suspects who has had contact with someone infected. by the virus to contact the White House Medical Office.
The email, reviewed by CNN, was sent to staff working throughout the White House complex, following revelations of new infections including President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, as well as many of the leading advisers to the White House. The west wing had been reluctant to enforce such regulations among staff, particularly with regard to masks, for fear of undermining the president’s efforts to show that his administration has the pandemic under control.
But after several of the president’s top aides, including Hope Hicks, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and senior adviser Stephen Miller, tested positive in recent days, as well as other mid-level staff, the White House it has been forced to take hasty measures to prevent the spread. to get even worse.
However, New York Times White House correspondent and CNN contributor Michael Shear, who tested positive for the virus after direct interaction with White House officials, told CNN Tuesday night that the The White House has not made an approach to trace contacts or follow up on their condition. At least one other White House official told CNN that they also alerted officials that they had had direct contact with positive White House personnel and received no guidance on how to proceed.
The email also featured new guidance regarding masks, mandatory random employee testing, quarantine, and working with COVID-19 symptoms.
Regarding the contract tracing, the email stated that “the White House medical unit, with the help of the CDC, has completed all contact tracing for positive COVID-19 cases that have been identified at the White House.” .
It defined close contact “as contact within six feet for more than 15 minutes within 48 hours of symptoms or a positive COVID-19 test.”
On the masks, the email notes: “We continue to encourage staff to wear a mask or face covers, especially when social distancing is not an option. As a reminder, we require that everyone entering the West Wing wear a mask or cover. facial. “
The medical unit is supplying masks to those who need them, and the masks are also available “at every entrance to the west wing,” the email read.
Mandatory random COVID-19 testing is also being conducted for all employees working in the Executive Office of the President, known as the EOP.
“Failure to appear for the test will be considered a refusal to take the test,” the email states, stating that staff who have been working remotely for the past 30 days may get test postponements, it has been planned in next 14 days. traveling or with a previously approved license.
The email outlined new guidance for returning to the White House after quarantine, saying “if you have tested positive for COVID-19, are quarantined due to close contact, or self-isolate due to symptoms, it MUST be cleared by the White House Medical Unit prior to returning to the EOP campus. Personnel who have met quarantine requirements (10 days after COVID diagnosis / 14 days for close contacts) will be authorized to return to work upon receiving a COVID test -19 negative “.
Any member of the White House staff who experiences symptoms of COVID-19, such as a sore throat, cough, fever, headache, new loss of taste or smell, muscle aches, chills, diarrhea or difficulty breathing, are He asked “please stay home and not come to work.” until I am free of any symptoms. “
This story was first published on CNN.com, “Email from the White House says ‘all contact tracing’ is complete.”
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