Fauci, Top COVID Officials Exposed to Virus

Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the chief faces of the Trump administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic, is now among three top White House coronavirus officials who have been exposed to the virus, though CNN describes his contact with a White House staffer who tested positive as "low risk." Fauci will begin a "modified quarantine" in which he works from home and wears a mask for 14 days; the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases says he may go into his office at the NIH when he's the only one there, will be tested daily, and will take all precautions if called to the White House or Capitol Hill, where he's expected to testify before the Senate next week.

The other two exposed officials, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield, will do a full self-quarantine for 14 days, notes Axios. The Washington Post reports that White House staffers are still encouraged to come into the office following the positive diagnosis of VP Mike Pence's spokeswoman and President Trump's military valet, which it terms "the conflicting ways" in which administration officials are responding. "The president’s physician and White House operations continue to work closely to ensure every precaution is taken to keep the president, first family, and the entire White House complex safe and healthy at all times," a spokesman says. (More Anthony Fauci stories.)