Getty White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary, has tested positive for COVID-19, she confirmed on Twitter.
She said she had been tested every day since Thursday, the day that Trump’s senior aide, Hope Hicks, tested positive. On Monday, October 5, McEnany tested positive for the coronavirus, she said. McEnany added that she is not experiencing any symptoms.
President Donald Trump is at Walter Reed hospital where he is being treated for the coronavirus. McEnany joins a growing list of White House staffers and others who work closely with the president who have also contracted COVID-19, along with other major political figures.
Here’s what you need to know:
McEnany Is in Quarantine & Said Shortly After Her Diagnosis She Was Not Experiencing Symptoms
McEnany also claimed to have no knowledge that senior Trump aide Hope Hicks tested positive for #Covid19 prior to holding a press briefing last Thursday (📷) without a mask, a decision that has come under scrutiny for potentially exposing reporters present t.co/3MLfwkZZBt
McEnany emphasized in her brief statement to the public that she tested negative for the coronavirus several times before her positive test result was returned the morning of October 5. At the time of her statement, she was not experiencing any symptoms. McEnany said she will be under quarantine and continue working remotely.
She also said she was not aware of Hicks’ positive COVID-19 test when she held a press briefing the same day, Thursday, October 1, and that no members of the press were listed among “close contacts” for potential exposure.
McEnany wrote:
After testing negative consistently, including every day since Thursday, I tested positive for COVID-19 Monday morning while experiencing no symptoms. No reporters, producers or members of the press are listed as close contacts by the White House Medical Unit. Moreover, I definitively had no knowledge of Hope Hicks’diagnosis prior to holding a White House press briefing on Thursday. As an essential worker, I have worked diligently to provide needed information to the American people at this time. With my recent positive test, I will begin the quarantine process and will continue working on behalf of the American people remotely.
Numerous White House & Campaign Staff Members Have Been Diagnosed With COVID-19, as Have White House Reporters
McEnany is yet another name added to the list of staff and political figures who have recently tested positive for the coronavirus. The list includes first lady Melania Trump, Donald Trump’s “body man” Nick Luna, Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee Ronna Romney McDaniels, Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien and Trump’s former adviser Kellyanne Conway.
BREAKING: White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany has tested positive for #COVID19.
She is at least the fifth White House staffer to test positive. She says she will begin quarantine and described herself as an “essential worker” in her statement.
At least three reporters who were in and around the White House in the past week have also tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a statement from White House Correspondents Association President Zeke Miller.
The statement said, in part:
For seven months, we have been clear-eyed about the inherent risks in fulfilling our obligation to keeping the American public informed. Today those risks are more evident than ever, but our work is only growing more vital.
To allow that work to continue, we are insisting that journalists who are not in the pool and do not have an enclosed workspace to refrain from working out of the White House at this time. We must lower our exposure to possible further infections. When in the shared press areas, including at desks, please wear a mask at all times.
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