WASHINGTON — A personal valet to President Trump has tested positive for the coronavirus — the first known confirmed case in the West Wing, the White House said Thursday.
“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,” principal deputy 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,” Gidley added.
The member of the US Navy, who is regularly in the West Wing and works as a personal assistant to Trump, began experiencing symptoms of the virus before testing positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, CNN first reported.
The president and Vice President Mike Pence are regularly screened for COVID-19 and anyone who comes into close contact with either of the executives is also tested using the rapid Abbott Labs machine.
Two Post reporters were tested for the virus before an hour-long interview with Trump in the Oval Office on Monday — with doctors in the White House Medical Unit saying no one had tested positive, to their knowledge.