Three members of the White House coronavirus task force will self-quarantine after possible exposure to COVID-19, administration officials said Saturday.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), and 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.
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."
She added that Fauci was "considered to be at relatively low risk based on the degree of his exposure," but he was "taking appropriate precautions to mitigate risk to any of his personal contacts while still allowing him to carry out his responsibilities in this public health crisis.”
On Friday, Hahn announced his quarantine in a memo to staff saying he had come into contact with a person who has coronavirus, aides told NBC News. He tested negative for the virus but was isolating as a precaution, they said.
The announcements come after two people with access to the White House tested positive for coronavirus.
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.
One of Trump’s personal valets also tested positive for coronavirus. The military official works in the West Wing serving Trump meals, among other duties. The White House said the aide developed symptoms on Tuesday and was tested soon after.
Both Trump and Pence have tested negative for COVID-19 as of Friday, White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said. The two are now tested daily for the virus.
