Dr. Anthony Fauci and two other members of the White House coronavirus task force have entered a “modified” voluntary quarantine after possible exposure to a White House aide who tested positive for the virus.
In addition to Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control, will quarantine for 14 days. Stephen Hahn, the head of the Food and Drug Administration, has already gone into quarantine.
All three are members of the task force charged with advising the president on the U.S. response to the coronavirus.
Fauci, who has emerged as the most high-profile public health expert on President Donald Trump’s task force, will follow a “modified” quarantine for the next two weeks after “low-risk” exposure to a White House aide who tested positive for coronavirus, according to an administration official.
He is expected to work mostly from home but planned to testify in person next week before the Senate. Hahn and Redfield will also testify but via videoconference.
“Dr. Fauci has tested negative for CoVID-19, and he will continue to be tested regularly,” a NIAID spokeswoman said. “He is actively monitoring his temperature and other health indicators.”
The Trump aide who tested positive, a military valet who served him meals, developed symptoms earlier this week. Also, the spokesperson for Vice President Mike Pence tested positive as well.
On Friday, Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, confirmed that she tested positive for COVID-19. Miller is married to top Trump adviser Stephen Miller.
Miller said she initially tested negative on Thursday. A second test revealed her positive status on Friday. Miller’s husband tested negative, according to an administration official.
Yesterday, AP reported that 11 Secret Service members had tested positive for the coronavirus. It’s unknown if these agents even worked at the White House or in Washington, but the press is adding that story to the news of task force members quarantining and raising questions about the safety of the White House.
Trump told GOP lawmakers: “It can happen anywhere. It’s a very elusive enemy. A vicious enemy. And I think, more importantly than anything with this one, it’s probably the most contagious enemy that anybody has seen.”
Coronavirus is definitely one, tough bug. It can live for days on many surfaces and is resistant to all anti-viral treatments we can throw at it. It’s insidious because most people don’t even know they have it.
Hopefully, an effective vaccine comes sooner rather than later. Until then, Fauci and his colleagues are doing the right thing in quarantining themselves.
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