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Reuters
White House Senior Policy Advisor Stephen Miller Says He Tested Positive For Covid
Covid-19 is spreading even further among those close to President Trump, with White House adviser Stephen Miller and a senior military official infected.
Miller, who has been isolating himself for the past five days, confirmed he had contracted coronavirus on Tuesday.
Senior US General Mark Milley and other military leaders are also under quarantine after Admiral Charles Ray, a Coast Guard officer, tested positive.
Other officials are isolating themselves “as a precaution.”
Admiral Ray, vice commander of the United States Coast Guard, is said to be experiencing mild symptoms.
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EPA
Mark Milley is among those in self-quarantine
While officials who attended meetings with Admiral Ray last week are now in quarantine, so far none have tested positive or shown symptoms, the Pentagon said.
It is not known how Adm Ray contracted the virus. The admiral attended an event at the White House about 10 days ago, but it is unclear whether he contracted the virus there or elsewhere, officials told the Associated Press news agency.
US President Donald Trump and other White House officials have tested positive for coronavirus in recent days.
The Coast Guard said in a statement that Adm Ray tested positive Monday and was now isolated at his home. He added that any Coast Guard personnel in close contact with him would also quarantine him.
CBS News, a partner at the BBC, reported that nearly all members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, a body made up of senior military officials who advise the US president, were in quarantine after attending meetings with Admiral Ray last week.
In addition to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Milley, others in quarantine included the deputy chief of staff, the Army chief of staff, the chief of naval operations, the Air Force chief of staff, the CyberCom commander, the chief of the Space Force, the chief of the National Guard and deputy commander of the Marine Corps.
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United States Coast Guard
The US Coast Guard said Admiral Charles Ray experienced mild symptoms before testing positive for coronavirus
Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman told reporters that “there were no changes in the operational readiness or mission capabilities of the United States Armed Forces.”
“Senior military leaders can continue to be fully capable of carrying out missions and performing their functions from an alternative workplace,” he said.
The Pentagon is conducting a contact tracing related to last week’s meetings.
Cases arising in the White House
Meanwhile, since President Trump tested positive last week, several high-ranking Republicans and others close to him have been confirmed to have the virus.
This includes First Lady Melania Trump, Aide Hope Hicks, and several Republican senators.
Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tested positive and announced her diagnosis on Monday, and three more members of the press office staff, Chad Gilmartin, Karoline Leavitt and Jalen Drummond, tested positive on Tuesday.
Ms. McEnany was seen speaking to reporters without wearing a mask on Sunday, but said no members of the press had been listed as close contacts by the White House medical unit.
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Many of the people in Trump’s inner circle who tested positive attended a meeting in the White House Rose Garden on Sept. 26 that is being scrutinized as a possible “over-broadcast event.”
Another coronavirus case that emerged from that event, in which the president unveiled his candidate for the United States Supreme Court, is a Christian minister from California.
Pastor Greg Laurie, who is said to have mild symptoms, was also with US Vice President Mike Pence that same day at a prayer march in downtown Washington DC.
The plexiglass will be used to separate Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic challenger Kamala Harris and limit the risk of Covid transmission when they face off in a debate in Salt Lake City, Utah, on Wednesday. Both candidates have recently tested negative.
President Trump, meanwhile, returned to the White House yesterday after being hospitalized with the virus.
While at Walter Reed Medical Center, he was treated with dexamethasone, a steroid drug typically given to critically ill Covid patients, and supplemental oxygen.
