White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany Tests Positive for COVID-19
- Published Oct 06, 2020
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has tested positive for the coronavirus.
“After testing negative consistently, including every day since Thursday, I tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday morning while experiencing no symptoms,” McEnany posted to Twitter.
"As an essential worker, I have worked diligently to provide needed information to the American People at this time," she wrote. "With my recent positive test, I will begin the quarantine process and will continue working on behalf of the American People remotely.”
Other sources said press office officials Karoline Leavitt and Chad Gilmartin have also tested positive.
McEnany’s announcement comes just a few days after President Donald Trump tested positive for coronavirus. He was briefly treated at Walter Reed Medical Center before returning to the White House on Monday. First Lady Melania Trump also tested positive.
Health experts believe that members of Trump’s administration may have been exposed to the virus at a ceremony in the Rose Garden at the White House last month when Trump introduced Judge Amy Coney Barrett as his nominee to the Supreme Court.
According to USA Today, few officials wore masks at the event, but McEnany wore one for part of the event.
She had last briefed reporters at the White House Thursday, but on Sunday she held an informal briefing outside. She did not wear a mask at either briefing.
White House Medical Unit contact tracing did not list any reporters, photographers or other media members as “close contacts.”
The White House Correspondents’ Association said in a statement that they hoped McEnany recovered quickly. Three White House reporters have tested positive for the virus.
"As of this moment, we are not aware of additional cases among White House journalists, though we know some are awaiting test results," the WHCA said in the statement. "We strongly encourage our members to continue following CDC guidance on mask wearing and distancing – especially when at the White House – and urge journalists to seek testing if they were potentially exposed.”
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Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Alex Wong/Staff
Amanda Casanova is a writer living in Dallas, Texas. She has covered news for ChristianHeadlines.com since 2014. She has also contributed to The Houston Chronicle, U.S. News and World Report and IBelieve.com. She blogs at The Migraine Runner.
