United Sttes – A report from CNN on Friday night revealed that an assistant to White House adviser Ivanka Trump, daughter of President Donald Trump, had tested positive for the coronavirus. The assistant had reportedly been working from home in recent weeks and had not been in direct contact with the president’s daughter. CNN also reported that Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, were tested for the virus on Friday and were negative.
But the assistant’s confirmed infection is the latest in a string of reports this week that the disease is reaching the inner circle of the president and the vice president. CNN’s report came hours after Trump confirmed that Katie Miller, press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence, had tested positive for the coronavirus.
“She hasn’t come into contact with me. She spent some time with the vice president,” Trump said of Miller on Friday, noting that Pence had since been tested and was negative for the virus. Trump did not confirm whether Pence plans to self-quarantine.
Also on Friday, Reuters reported that U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn has placed himself into self-isolation after coming into contact with an individual who tested positive for the virus.
During recent public appearances, neither Trump nor Pence have adhered to 6-feet social distancing guidelines nor worn masks, per recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Officials and aides who come into contact with Trump and Pence continue to be regularly tested for the virus. But, as Trump noted during remarks from the White House on Friday, a negative test result doesn’t necessarily guarantee that an individual won’t contract or spread the virus.
“This is why the whole concept of tests aren’t necessarily great,” Trump said. “The tests are perfect, but something could happen between the test where it’s good. And then something happens, and all of a sudden … (Miller) was tested very recently and tested negative. And then today, I guess, for some reason, she tested positive.”
Earlier in the week, news broke that one of Trump’s military valets had tested positive for the virus. Yahoo News also obtained a Department of Homeland Security report this week that showed the Secret Service was responding to 11 active cases within its ranks as of Thursday evening. Another 60 Secret Service members are reportedly self-quarantining, and 23 members have recovered from the virus.
As Yahoo News noted in its report, members of the Secret Service have regularly been spotted without masks in and around the White House.
More than 1.2 million Americans are confirmed to have been infected with the virus – accounting for nearly a third of all cases that have been reported globally. Many states have begun reopening portions of their economies in recent weeks, as unemployment has soared and the U.S. shed more than 20 million jobs in April.
But infection counts are climbing across much of the U.S. On Friday evening, former magician Roy Horn of Siegfried and Roy fame died from complications related to a coronavirus infection. He was 75 years old.
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