President Donald Trump returned to the White House after just 3 days of checking in a hospital. Still infected with virus, the president decided to get back to work and continue his treatment at the White House. However, a number of people had to pay the price for Trump’s enthusiasm. There are reports about several officials contracting coronavirus after he came back from hospital on Monday 5th October.
Reportedly POTUS was entirely focused on the presidential battle against Joe Biden. He wanted to quickly join the campaign trial as US Elections 2020 was less than a month away. Trump announced on Friday 2nd October that he and his wife, Melania Trump contracted coronavirus. He then moved to Walter Reed military medical facility in a helicopter after his health reportedly got worse.
Many officials at the White House tested positive for covid 19 after Trump’s announcement. The number continued to grow with his return. Infected includes those in the White House, those who came to attend the event, and those involved in Trump’s reelection campaign.
Did Donald Trump Cause The White House Outbreak?
The White House has tried to assure Americans that they were taking every measure to protect the president and his family. Whereas, there were many other people who needed protection from the infected Donald Trump. Despite the reproach and fears, the contagious president still appeared on a balcony and gave a salute after removing his face mask. This defining moment of Trump’s presidency was captured by meme-makers as well. They created a dramatic montage that went more viral than the president’s actual address.
Health professionals have raised numerous concerns about Trump resuming his campaign. A large group of unmasked people rallying behind Donald Trump were at risk of contracting the virus too. This showed how POTUS continued to downplay the seriousness of the pandemic.
Reports first identified that president’s secretary Kayleigh McEnany has contracted the virus along with her two deputies.
The infection kept spreading among the inner circle of Donald Trump. An advisor at White House, Stephen Miller confirmed on Tuesday 6th October that he was covid positive. His wife Katie Miller also had coronavirus but recovered in May. This time, she has tested negative. The White House avoided to reveal the total infections which broiled tension among the US citizens.
Next report was about the assistant press secretary, Jalen Drummond. According to data compiled by various news outlets, he was among the 22 people who got infected after interacting with the White House.
The actual number of White House infections remain hidden due to Trump administration’s cloak of secrecy around the outbreak. Majority of the experts believe that these infections could be more than two dozen, which makes White House, one of the hottest virus spreading zones in the US.
Coronavirus Sweeps the Pantagon
After wreaking havoc inside the White House, the virus took its aim at the Pantagon.
One member of the US Coast Guard, Admiral Ray Charles was tested positive which led many other top military officials in quarantine. Reportedly these include the chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, and the Vice Chairman, General John Hyten.
The Pentagon stressed that the officials who came in contact with the Admiral were all in quarantine and reported no symptoms. According to the reports by one channel, at least 9 military leaders were in self-quarantine. It was not clear whether they tested or not after the exposure. In addition to Generals Milley and Hyten, Army chief of staff, Vice-chief of staff, Air Force chief of staff, chief of Naval Operations, the Space Force chief, chief of the National Guard, CyberCom commander, and Deputy Commander of the Marine Corps were in quarantine.
The Pentagon claimed that it was conducting contact tracing since the last week’s meeting. It further said that these incidents have not compromised the mission capabilities of the US military. Senior officials who are in quarantine shall continue to work from alternate locations.
Donald Trump’s Response Is Worrisome to His COVID Infection for the Americans
The White House outbreak which extended to the Pentagon, also affected some lawmakers in Capitol Hill. This raised concerns in the surrounding city, Washington D.C. The capital managed to bring down the infection rate in past weeks but the federal government ruined it.
Washington reported 105 new coronavirus cases the day after Trump’s return. This is the highest number of cases in Washington since June. Total cases in the US have reached 7.5M and more than 210k people have died.
Donald Trump stunned the critics by giving problematic remarks such as claiming that no other leader had done what he did. He implied that he took dangerous risks for the public before saying he was ok and probably immune.
The fact the President of the United States was not taking even his own infection much serious for the sake of his campaign was misleading and could jeopardize the lives of millions of the US citizens who are fighting the tough battle.
