Three members of the White House coronavirus task force, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, placed themselves in quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, another stark reminder that not even one of the nation’s most secure buildings is immune from the virus.
Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a leading member of the task force, has become nationally known for his simple and direct explanations to the public about the coronavirus and COVID-19, the disease it causes. Also quarantining are Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Stephen Hahn.
Fauci's institute said that he has tested negative for COVID-19 and will continue to be tested regularly. It added that he is considered at “relatively low risk” based on the degree of his exposure, and that he would be “taking appropriate precautions" to mitigate the risk to personal contacts while still carrying out his duties. While he will stay at home and telework, Fauci will go to the White House if called and take every precaution, the institute said.
Redfield will be “teleworking for the next two weeks" after it was determined he had a “low risk exposure" to a person at the White House, the CDC said in a statement Saturday evening. The statement said he felt fine and has no symptoms.
Just a few hours earlier, the Food and Drug Administration confirmed that Hahn had come in contact with someone who tested positive and was in self-quarantine for the next two weeks. He tested negative for the virus.
All three men are scheduled to testify before a Senate committee on Tuesday. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., the chairman of the panel, said the White House will allow Redfield and Hahn to testify by videoconference, a one-time exception to the administration's policies on hearing testimony. The statement was issued before Fauci's quarantine was announced.
Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday, making her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week. White House officials had confirmed Thursday that a member of the military serving as one of Trump’s valets had tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.
President Donald Trump, who publicly identified the affected Pence aide as spokeswoman Katie Miller, said he was “not worried” about the virus spreading in the White House. Nonetheless, officials said they were stepping up safety protocols for the complex.
Miller had been in recent contact with Pence but not with the president and had tested negative a day earlier. She is married to Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser. The White House had no immediate comment on whether Stephen Miller had been tested or if he was still working in the White House.
The CDC and FDA would not disclose the identity of the person who had tested positive and with whom the agency leaders had come in contact.
Redfield sought to use the exposure as a teachable moment. The CDC statement said if he must go to the White House to fulfill any responsibilities as part of the coronavirus task force, he will follow CDC practices for critical infrastructure workers. Those guidelines call for Redfield and anyone working on the task force to have their temperature taken and screened for symptoms each day, wear a face covering, and distance themselves from others.
Trump has resisted wearing a mask, and in a meeting with the nation’s top military leaders Saturday evening, he did not wear a mask during the brief portion that reporters were allowed to view. The generals around Trump also did not wear a mask, but participants did sit a few feet away from each other.
FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Caccomo said Hahn tested negative for the virus after he learned of the contact. He wrote a note to staff on Friday to alert them.
Six people who had been in contact with Miller were scheduled to fly with Pence on Friday to Des Moines, Iowa, on Air Force Two. They were removed from the flight just before it took off, according to a senior administration official.
None of those people was exhibiting symptoms, but all were asked to deplane so they could be tested “out of an abundance of caution,” a senior administration official told reporters traveling with Pence. All six later tested negative, the White House said.
The official said staff in the West Wing are tested regularly but much of Pence's staff — which works next door in the Executive Office Building — are tested less frequently. Katie Miller was not on the plane and had not been scheduled to be on the trip.
Pence, who is tested on a regular basis, was tested Friday. Miller tweeted she was “doing well” and looked forward to getting back to work.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said the administration was stepping up mitigation efforts already recommended by public health experts and taking other unspecified precautions to ensure the safety of the president. He said the White House was “probably the safest place that you can come,” but the he was reviewing further steps to keep Trump and Pence safe.
The White House requires daily temperature checks of anyone who enters the White House complex and has encouraged social distancing among those working in the building. The administration has also directed regular deep cleaning of all work spaces. Anyone who comes in close proximity to the president and vice president is tested daily for COVID-19.
Trump's valet's case marked the first known instance where a person who has come in close proximity to the president has tested positive since several people present at his private Florida club were diagnosed with COVID-19 in early March.
AP Newsroom
Sun May 10 2020
In this Friday, April 17, 2020, file photo, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, walks from the podium after speaking about COVID-19 at the White House in Washington - AP Photo/Alex Brandon
Kekurangan jururawat diunjur hampir 60 peratus 2030 - Dr Dzulkefly
Kerjasama sektor awam dan swasta dapat bantu atasi kekurangan petugas kejururawatan di Malaysia yang diperlukan untuk memenuhi keperluan penjagaan kesihatan.
Delegasi Hamas ke Mesir, teruskan rundingan gencatan senjata
Ketua Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh sahkan delegasi akan ke Mesir, untuk meneruskan rundingan gencatan senjata dengan Israel
Pembinaan semula Gaza ambil masa berdekad lamanya
Laporan UNDP mendedahkan proses pembinaan semula infrastruktur yang musnah di Gaza akan mengambil masa beberapa dekad
Pelajar Colombia sifatkan NYPD kejam, kecewa dan ngeri
Pelajar Universiti Columbia dan penyokong pro-Palestin meneruskan protes dan berarak di luar pintu masuk Universiti Columbia di tengah-tengah kekejaman yang berterusan di Gaza.
Ia susulan malam berikutnya, polis New York City menahan berpuluh-puluh penunjuk perasaan pro-Palestin yang bersembunyi di Hamilton Hall, Columbia.
Ia susulan malam berikutnya, polis New York City menahan berpuluh-puluh penunjuk perasaan pro-Palestin yang bersembunyi di Hamilton Hall, Columbia.
Profesor dan pelajar universiti Colombia desak kampus dibuka semula
Profesor & kumpulan pelajar di Universiti Colombia desak kampus dibuka semula selepas protes pro Palestin menyebabkan pengurusan menutup universiti
Protes tidak akan ubah dasar AS ke atas Israel - Biden
Presiden Amerika Syarikat Joe Biden berkata bahawa kebebasan bersuara dan kedaulatan undang-undang mesti dihormati dalam protes di kampus kolej berhubung perang di Gaza.
Sambil berkata meskipun protes seluruh universiti diadakan sekalipun, ia tidak memaksanya untuk mempertimbangkan semula dasar-dasarnya di Timur Tengah.
Sambil berkata meskipun protes seluruh universiti diadakan sekalipun, ia tidak memaksanya untuk mempertimbangkan semula dasar-dasarnya di Timur Tengah.
Kehadiran jentera kempen PRK KKB bukti kesepaduan Kerajaan Perpaduan - Zambry
Kehadiran dan komitmen jentera parti Kerajaan Perpaduan pada kempen PRK Kuala Kubu Baharu jelas membuktikan keutuhan kerajaan.
Anwar beri masa dua bulan noktah kemiskinan tegar di Kelantan
PM beri tempoh dua bulan kepada agensi kerajaan Pusat dan negeri untuk menoktahkan miskin tegar di Kelantan.
Malaysia berdepan 30,000 kekurangan jurutera, perlu tampung dengan TVET - PM
Program Pendidikan Teknikal dan Latihan Vokasional (TVET) akan dipertingkat bagi menampung kekurangan 30,000 jurutera di negara ini.
Pulau Pinang adakan bengkel dengan pemegang taruh muktamadkan jajaran LRT
Bengkel itu dijangka dilaksanakan seminggu dua lagi supaya kerja-kerja melibatkan projek infrastruktur transformatif dapat dijalankan.
Anthony Fauci bersara Disember ini
Fauci akan bersara selepas lima dekad berkhidmat dalam perkhidmatan awam Amerika Syarikat.
Berita antarabangsa pilihan sepanjang hari ini
Antara pelbagai berita luar negara yang disiarkan di Astro AWANI, berikut adalah antara yang paling menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari ini.
Dr Anthony Fauci disahkan positif COVID-19
Dr Anthony Fauci, wajah di sebalik usaha kerajaan Amerika Syarikat untuk menangani pandemik COVID-19, akhirnya kecundang selepas disahkan positif COVID-19.
COVID-19: Wabak koronavirus masih belum berakhir - Fauci
Sekiranya virus terus mereplikasi di merata dunia, sentiasa ada ancaman varian baharu yang akan muncul.
COVID-19: AS terus gesa rakyat ambil dos penggalak
Ketika ini dos penggalak adalah pertahanan terbaik terhadap peningkatan kes varian Omicron.
COVID-19: Rakyat AS digesa ambil dos penggalak kekang penularan Omicron
Dr Anthony Fauci berkata ketika ini dos penggalak adalah pertahanan terbaik dalam menangani peningkatan kes varian Omicron.
COVID-19: Dos penggalak berkesan terhadap varian baharu
Data menunjukkan dos penggalak meningkatkan dengan ketara tahap antibodi terhadap varian-varian baharu virus itu.
COVID-19: AS sahkan kesan kes pertama varian Omicron
Kes berkenaan ditemukan pada pesakit yang telah lengkap vaksin serta mengunjungi Afrika Selatan pada 22 November lalu.
COVID-19: AS tiada kes jangkitan melibatkan varian Omicron
Varian Delta kekal mendominasi jangkitan COVID-19 di negara itu.
Mansuh mandat vaksinasi: Fauci kesal keputusan Gabenor Texas
Keputusan tersebut akan melumpuhkan sistem kesihatan awam memandangkan vaksinasi adalah perkara utama ketika ini.