An atmosphere of fear and anxiety has set in among staff of the White House, the seat of the presidency of the United States of America.
According to US media, Katie Miller, the Press Secretary to the Vice President Mike Pence and an unnamed member of the US Navy who is among the team people who serve meals to the president (a valet) have tested positive to the Coronavirus.
The revelations have forced the president, his vice and all close senior staff to undergo daily tests for Coronavirus instead of once a week.
In addition, three top officials leading the government’s coronavirus response have begun two weeks of self-quarantine.
The New York Times reports that some senior officials believe that the disease is already spreading rapidly through the cramped offices that make up the three floors of the West Wing – the administrative campus of the White House.
As a result, some officials now fear to go to work.
“It is scary to go to work,” Kevin Hassett, a top economic adviser to the president, said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program on Sunday, according to New York Times.
The discovery of the two infected employees has reportedly triggered an angry reaction from president Trump who is said to have complained of insufficient protection against the virus.
Voice of America (VOA) has reported that the President erupted in anger upon learning of the valet’s coronavirus infection and told staff he did not feel enough was being done to protect him from COVID-19.
Trump, who in recent days has said as many as 100,000 Americans could die of the novel coronavirus, for which there is no vaccine, has been pushing for the country to begin resuming normal economic activity amid the pandemic.
President Trump has however refused to wear a protective mask for fear of hurting his re-election chances, US Media have reported. The president’s stance however contravenes the same guidelines his administration issued for all Americans to wear a mask in public places.
