After attending an election night watch party hosted at the White House, Dr. Ben Carson, Mark Meadows, the president’s chief of staff, and a number of other White House staffers tested positive for the coronavirus, according to an article from Essence Magazine.
Coalter Baker, Carson’s deputy chief of staff, verified that the HUD Secretary has the virus but “is in good spirits,” the magazine article stated, and he was released from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
With numerous COVID-19 protocol-discrepancies, including not practicing social distancing restrictions and mask-wearing in the public eye, the White House has faced heavy criticism, especially after not releasing who was affected with it after attending the event. Carson and his wife were also spotted at numerous “Black Voices for Trump” rallies without masks.
According to the article, White House officials shared with the Los Angeles Times that they only found out about positive cases via media outlets. Some aides then told PBS’s Yamiche Alcindor that they felt “pressured” to attend the event to “save face,” and that they were concerned that it would become a potential super spreader event. With a surge in positive COVID-19 cases—and even President Trump testing positive roughly a month ago—staffers are growing more concerned with the nonchalant attitude this administration is showcasing towards the virus.
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