Coronavirus enters the White House: Dr. Fauci and two other advisers, quarantined after two positives | International

Not even the White House, one of the safest buildings in the world, is safe from what Donald Trump likes to define as “the invisible enemy.” Three members of the President’s coronavirus task force, including epidemiologist Anthony Fauci, Visible face of the scientific disclosure about the virus for Americans, they have decided to quarantine, after having had contact with at least one person who tested positive for covid-19, the disease caused by the pathogen.

In addition to Fauci, 79, who defines his contact as “low risk,” doctors Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). All three, like part of the White House staff, undergo regular diagnostic tests for the coronavirus, the last one last Friday, and they have always tested negative. But, as a precautionary measure, they will telework from home for the next two weeks. The Fauci’s team He has assured that the doctor will go to the White House if required, taking all precautions. The three were scheduled to testify Tuesday before a Senate committee, whose chairman has confirmed that at least Redfield and Hahn will do so via videoconference (Fauci’s isolation had not yet been announced when the statement was released).

The quarantine of the three doctors comes after two workers from the environment of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, coordinator of the coronavirus emergency, tested positive this week for diagnostic tests for covid-19. This is Pence’s spokeswoman, Katie Miller, and an unidentified military aide to the President. The response to the two positives has once again cast doubt on the effectiveness with which the White House works to maintain a safe working environment for the President.

Redfield and Hahn will be isolated at home for two weeks, Fauci has opted for a less rigorous forty. Meanwhile, aides traveling with Trump and Pence will not remain in isolation for 14 days, as recommended after exposure to the virus, and many of the White House staff, reports The Washington Post, he has received orders from his superiors to go to the job with relative normality.

The president’s team tracks the latest movements of the two positives, especially those of Miller, who attended the Oval Office daily, especially while holding daily coronavirus task force appearances, until two weeks ago. Miller was also in the emergency room of the White House, one of the most protected places in the country, last Thursday.

President Trump, for his part, insists on not using a protective mask, as his own Administration recommends to citizens. He did not wear it on Saturday in a meeting with senior military officials, at least for as long as journalists could see him. He even showed himself uncovered, last Tuesday, during a visit in Arizona precisely to a mask factory. A month ago, on April 3, when he himself announced the CDC guidelines, which recommended using masks to prevent the spread of the virus, he pointed out that he himself would not respect them. “They can do it. They don’t have to. I choose not to, “said Trump.

The White House ensures that, in addition to respecting the physical distance for avoid infections and thoroughly disinfect all workplaces, take a temperature, and perform diagnostic tests daily on all team members who are close to the President and Vice President. On Friday, after the two positives, instructions were distributed to all staff that encourage maximizing telecommuting and require quarantine if traveling outside of Washington. But they do not encourage the use of masks, as the CDC recommends to other citizens.

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