Washington National security adviser Robert O’Brien tested positive for COVID-19, a White House official confirmed to CBS News.
O’Brien appears to be the highest-ranking official within the Trump administration to become infected with the coronavirus.
The White House official said O’Brien has “mild symptoms and has self-isolated and works from a safe off-site location.” The official said neither President nor Vice President Mike Pence are at risk of exposure. President Trump told reporters that he has not seen O’Brien lately.
“The work of the National Security Council continues without interruption,” said the White House official.
Bloomberg first reported that O’Brien tested positive.
Several National Security Council employees told CBS News that they knew nothing about O’Brien’s positive diagnosis before being contacted by the media.
It is unclear how O’Brien contracted the coronavirus. He and Deputy National Security Adviser Matthew Pottinger traveled to Paris earlier this month, during which O’Brien met with his counterparts in France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, as well as other European officials. O’Brien also visited the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in northern France and attended the Bastille Day ceremony.
O’Brien is not the first person who works at the White House to contract the coronavirus, although he appears to be Trump’s closest adviser to test positive. In May, Katie Miller, Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary, tested positive and a military aide assigned to the White House as a valet for Mr. Trump also tested positive for the coronavirus.
Last week, a Marine Corps spokesman confirmed that a Marine assigned to the President’s helicopter squad tested positive. The Marine was not in contact with Marine One, the President’s helicopter.
The coronavirus crisis in recent weeks has worsened in many states across the country, prompting governors to impose restrictions on companies and issue mandates that require people to wear face covers when in public places.
According to Johns Hopkins University, there have been more than 4.2 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S., and more than 146,000 people have died.
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