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WASHINGTON (AP) – President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows has been diagnosed with the coronavirus as the nation sets daily records for confirmed cases of the pandemic.
Two senior administration officials confirmed Friday that Meadows had tested positive for the virus, which has killed more than 236,000 Americans so far this year. They did not offer details on when the chief of staff contracted the virus or his current condition. His diagnosis was first reported by Bloomberg News.
An administration official said several other staff members had also tested positive.
Meadows traveled with Trump in the lead up to Election Day and last appeared in public Wednesday morning without a mask when Trump falsely declared victory in the vote count. He had been one of Trump’s closest associates when the president contracted the virus more than a month ago, but was tested daily and kept his regular work hours.
It marked the most recent case of the virus in the West Wing, which came not even two weeks after Marc Short, Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff and other aides tested positive for the virus. Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, and at least two dozen other people tested positive for the virus in early October, after Trump held large gatherings of people not wearing face masks, including the ceremony at which the nomination was announced. from now Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.
Trump has repeatedly said that the nation is “turning around” the pandemic, which was the most important thing to voters in Tuesday’s election.
COVID-19 cases in the US have risen more than 50% in the last two weeks. According to an AP analysis of data from John Hopkins University, the 7-day moving average of daily new cases increased from 61,166 on October 22 to 94,625 on November 5.
