Donald Trump and the entire White House staff will be tested DAILY after Navy valet who served president tested positive for coronavirus - but Trump will NOT be quarantined because says he's 'essential'
- President Trump and White House staff to be tested daily for the coronavirus
- Announcement came after Navy official who acts as one of President Trump 's personal valets has tested positive for the coronavirus
- 'I've had very little contact, personal contact with this gentleman,' Trump said
- That is highly unlikely given valet's duties of serving the president his meals, taking care of his wardrobe and traveling with him
- Vice President Pence said he and Trump will not quarantine because they are 'essential' workers so have an exception
- The navy stewards are part of a military unit that provide a variety of services for the West Wing, including catering and valet service
- President Trump does not require West Wing staff to wear marks
- Melania Trump, who oversees the East Wing and residential staff, has staff wear masks and implements a strict social distancing policy
- Former CDC official Dr. Cyrus Shahpar told CNN the president needs to begin a quarantine for 14 days immediately
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
President Donald Trump and the White House staff will be tested daily for the coronavirus after a Navy valet who worked in the West Wing tested positive for the disease.
'I've had very little contact, personal contact with this gentleman,' Trump said of the valet.
That is highly unlikely given that a valet's duties include serving the president his meals, taking care of his wardrobe and traveling with him.
Trump noted, however, that the internal White House policy on testing will change from once a week to once a day at a time coronavirus testing is not available for the general public. Trump also said he was tested Wednesday and Thursday and was negative.
'It just shows you what I've been saying, testing is not a perfect no matter what you do, testing is not a perfect art so we test once a week,' the president said. 'Now we are going to go testing once a day.'
Trump also said his wife Melania and son Barron were fine.
'They're in good shape,' he said.
President Donald Trump and the White House staff will be tested daily for the coronavirus after a Navy valet who worked in the West Wing tested positive for the disease
President Trump said Melania Trump and son Barron Trump (not pictured) were in 'good' shape after a Navy valet tested positive for coronavirus
The changes came after a Navy official who acts as one of the president's personal valets tested positive for the coronavirus, leading to questions about how exposed the president was and what precautions he should take going forward.
Early guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines recommended a 14-day self-quarantine if a person came into contact with someone who tested positive for the virus, which has infected more than 1.2 million Americans and caused more than 74,000 deaths.
But Trump said he would not be quarantined because he is 'essential.'
'Mike was just saying the word essential. Essential workers and as you know essential workers are immune,' the president said, referring to a conversation with the vice president, who heads the White House Coronavirus Task Force.
Vice President Pence said 'essential' workers were exempt from quarantining.
'But with regard to essential workers the president referred to, we've always had an exception,' Pence noted.
'We've asked them to continue to go to work by every countermeasures including testing to make sure they're not contracting the disease. In an effort that they would come into contact with the president will be testing every day, and keeping the essential work moving forward in our national response is the priority going forward,' Pence noted.
President Trump said he would not self-quarantine after contact with a staffer who tested positive for the coronavirus
The White House uses the Abbott Labs test, which provide results in about 15 minutes
Vice President Mike Pence said he and the president were 'essential' workers who would not be quarantined
The valet who tested positive was part of the White House Military Office, an elite group of officers and enlisted men who are assigned to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The valet is not being identified but his duties included serving the president his meals - Trump likes hamburgers and steak - and accompanying the president on trips. In other words the valet was believed to have regular contact with Trump.
'There is no one closer to the president physically, outside of his family, than the valets,' Kate Andersen Brower author of 'The Residence' - a book about the White House staff - told DailyMail.com.
She described the valets as 'very elite and they serve the president only.'
These enlisted service men - who wear dark suits instead of military uniforms - would bring Trump one of his beloved diet cokes and take care of his wardrobe, making sure his suits are pressed and shoes are shined. They also will travel with him and bring a go bag that contains all the necessary items for a trip, such as favorite snacks. Trump's bag would likely include hand sanitizer given his preference for using it.
Brower's 2016 book outlines a valet's duties: 'The task of tending to the president's more personal needs is handled by valets, who are always close at hand. There are typically two valets who work in shifts. They are military personnel who take care of the president's clothes, run errands, shine shoes, and work with the housekeepers. For example, if the president's shoes need to be resoled, a valet alerts a member of the Housekeeping Shop. When the president goes to the Oval Office in the morning, a valet stands close by in case he needs anything, including a cup of coffee, breakfast, or just a cough drop. When the president travels, a valet packs for him and often rides in a backup vehicle in the motorcade, carrying a spare shirt or tie in case the commander in chief spills something and needs a quick change of clothes.'
Administration officials have argued the temperature checks at the White House gate and coronavirus tests for people meeting with the president have kept Trump, the first family and the staff safe from the disease.
White House aides, however, have not been seen wearing face marks while working or in events with the president. And social distancing protocols are nearly impossible to maintain in the tight office space.
First Lady Melania Trump has been much more strict with the areas of the White House she oversees, including the residence and the East Wing, and requires staff to wear masks.
'She has implemented very strong rules in both the residence and the East Wing,' Stephanie Grisham, the first lady's chief of staff, told DailyMail.com.
'Staff was cut back in the residence, and East Wing staff are teleworking unless vital to come in for meetings or events. Masks are worn and social distancing has been strictly enforced,' she noted.
Melania Trump has been much more strict with the areas of the White House she oversees, including the residence and the East Wing, and requires staff to wear masks
Melania Trump, who is tested regularly for the coronavirus, has advocated for people to wear face masks, shooting a video urging people to don one and was pictured wearing one herself.
The president has not been photographed wearing a mask although he said he wore backstage during a visit to the Honeywell factory in Arizona on Tuesday, which switched to making surgical masks to help battle the coronavirus pandemic.
He also said Thursday he has seen staff around the White House wear masks.
'They do. They wear masks. A lot of people in the White House wear masks,' Trump said.
When it comes to coronavirus testing, the White House uses the Abbott Labs test to detect the coronavirus, which provides results in about 15 minutes. It involves swabbing a person's nostrils and waiting on the result.
Former CDC official Dr. Cyrus Shahpar told CNN the president needs to begin a quarantine for 14 days immediately.
'That means staying home, no visitors, separating yourself from others, monitoring for symptoms, wearing a face covering when you're around others,' he said. 'That would be the recommendation.'
'As a high visibility person I think he should set an example and really go into that quarantine,' he noted.
Shahpar added: 'Don't put too much stock into one negative test. It takes time to develop enough virus to test positive.'
People are tested for the coronavirus before meeting with President Trump as were the participants in the Oval Office event on Wednesday for World Nurses Day, where no one wore masks or socially distanced
The valet is the second know staffer to test positive in the vast White House complex, which includes the West Wing offices where the president works, the Old Executive Office building where many aides are located, the East Wing offices of the first lady, and the Executive Mansion where the first family lives. A staffer in Pence's office tested positive in March.
'We were recently notified by the White House Medical Unit that a member of the United States Military, who works on the White House campus, has tested positive for Coronavirus,' deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement. 'The President and the Vice President have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health.'
A White House source told CNN the valet had symptoms Wednesday morning and the news that someone close to the president had tested positive for the virus was 'hitting the fan' in the West Wing.
A person close to the White House told NBC News President Trump became 'lava level mad' at his staff after the news and said he doesn't feel they are doing all they can to protect him from the virus.
It's the latest close brush with the coronavirus for the president. On March 7, he hosted a working dinner for the president of Brazil at Mar-a-Lago where a Brazilian official later tested positive for the disease.
Melania Trump has encouraged people to wear face masks
Melania Trump is tested regularly for the coronavirus
Former CDC official Dr. Cyrus Shahpar told CNN the president needs to begin a quarantine for 14 days immediately
Besides the political staff that make up the West Wing, there are permanent staff throughout the White House complex, including members of the military and civilian staffers.'
There are 96 full time employees who work in the residence, which makes up the second and third floors of the White House. And there are another 250 part-time employees, according to the book 'The Residence' by Kate Andersen Brower, which detailed the work of the residence staff.
Those jobs include: butler, maid, chef, plumber, doorman, and florist.
The incubation time for the coronavirus ranges anywhere from 2-14 days. People can be infectious for up to two days before they show symptoms. This can vary from person to person.
It has been White House policy that people meeting with the president are required to pass a coronavirus test.
For example, when President Trump held an event in the Oval Office on Wednesday for World Nurse Day all the participants were tested before hand.
'We wouldn't do anything to harm our president,' one of the nurses at the event said. 'We are all tested and we are all negative and that's why we are not socially distancing and why we are not wearing masks.'
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMidWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmRhaWx5bWFpbC5jby51ay9uZXdzL2FydGljbGUtODI5NzUxOS9Eb25hbGQtVHJ1bXBzLVdoaXRlLUhvdXNlLU5hdnktdmFsZXQtdGVzdHMtUE9TSVRJVkUtY29yb25hdmlydXMuaHRtbNIBeWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmRhaWx5bWFpbC5jby51ay9uZXdzL2FydGljbGUtODI5NzUxOS9hbXAvRG9uYWxkLVRydW1wcy1XaGl0ZS1Ib3VzZS1OYXZ5LXZhbGV0LXRlc3RzLVBPU0lUSVZFLWNvcm9uYXZpcnVzLmh0bWw?oc=5
2020-05-08 00:11:11Z
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