After a valet to the President and the Vice President’s Press Secretary tested positive, several senior members of the Coronavirus Task Force, including top infectious diseases expert Dr Anthony Fauci, will now self-quarantine for two weeks as a result.
This is as the United Nations again warned that COVID-19 does not distinguish between people while warning against increased hate speech and scapegoating as a result of the pandemic.
It has raised fears that 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue could become a coronavirus hotspot.
After a military valet to the President and Katie Miller, VP Mike Pence’s Press Secretary who is married to White House senior advisor Stephen Miller tested positive- raising questions about screenings of staff that work so closely with the Commander in Chief.
“She’s a wonderful young woman, Katie. She tested very well for a long period of time and then all of a sudden, today, she tested positive. She hasn’t come into contact with me. Spend some time with the vice president. It’s … I believe, the press person. It’s a press person. So, she tested positive out of the blue. This is why the whole concept of tests isn’t’ necessarily great. The tests are perfect. But something can happen between a test where it’s good and then something happens. And all of a sudden, she was tested very recently and tested negative.”
Due to contacts with those infected, several top officials will now self-quarantine: among them the Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr Anthony Fauci. Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr Robert Redfield and the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration Dr Stephen Hahn.
News emerged this past weekend that former President Barack Obama – in a private call – labeled the White House response to the coronavirus a chaotic disaster. But the current President has consistently argued that his team has done an excellent job.
“I just had a test, as you probably heard. In fact, I had one yesterday and I had one today. And it’s negative. Mike just had a test and it’s negative. But they do the tests and it just shows you that the fallacy it’s what I’ve been saying, testing is not a perfect art. No matter what you do. Testing is not a perfect art. So, we test once a week. Now we’re going to go testing once a day.”
With more than 1.3 million positive cases and almost 80 000 deaths, the United States has an ignominious label as the world’s epicenter for a virus that knows no boundaries as the United Nations warns against a tsunami of hate and xenophobia.
“Anti-foreigner sentiment has surged online and in the streets. Anti-Semitic conspiracy theories have spread, and COVID-19-related anti-Muslim attacks have occurred. Migrants and refugees have been vilified as a source of the virus and then denied access to medical treatment. With older persons among the most vulnerable, contemptible memes have emerged suggesting they are also the most expendable. And journalists, whistleblowers, health professionals, aid workers and human rights defenders are being targeted simply for doing their jobs.
We must act now to strengthen the immunity of our societies against the virus of hate. That’s why I’m appealing today for an all-out effort to end hate speech globally,” says Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
With economic prospects worsening everywhere, there are growing fears that scapegoating and scaremongering could be an additional frontier in confronting the virus.
Although coronavirus continues to claim lives in New York, the state is considering a phased opening of the economy:
