The White House confirmed that both President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have tested negative for coronavirus.A member of the U.S. military who works at the White House has tested positive for coronavirus, a White House spokesman announced 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,” Hogan Gidley, principal deputy press secretary, said in a statement. “The President and the Vice President have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health.”A CNN report on the diagnosis noted that the valet’s positive test came Wednesday, one day after the president traveled to Arizona to visit a Honeywell facility for N95 facemask production. The president was again in close contact with multiple individuals on Wednesday, including an event with nurses and a meeting with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, both of which were covered by the White House press pool.
The president has two valets in the Oval Office and three in the residence, according to a former White House official. Valets that work in the Oval provide anything Trump requests such as coffee, food, or whatever else he might need during the day. The president can call this valet whenever he wants using a button, making frequent daily interaction common.
The valets in the residence do his laundry, iron his attire for the day and pack his suitcases, the former official said. These employees also interact regularly with the president, delivering his newspaper or any other messages he night need.
In early April, White House doctors began giving rapid coronavirus tests to people “in close proximity” to the president and vice president. This is not the president’s first scare with exposure to the virus, which was also confirmed in Brazilian government officials who visited Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida earlier this year.
