Washington: Three members of the White House coronavirus task force, including the country’s infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci, were self-isolating for two weeks after possible exposure to the deadly illness, a media report said on Sunday.
Along with Fauci, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) director Robert Redfield and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Stephen Hahn were also self-isolating, the BBC report said.
Fauci’s agency, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Saturday that he was at “relatively low risk” due to the degree of his exposure and also tested negative.
The 79-year-old will work from home for the time being and will be regularly tested, the institute added.
In a statement, the CDC said Redfield, 68, had no symptoms and was not feeling unwell, but would also be teleworking for two weeks after “low risk exposure” to someone at the White House.
It was unclear who this person is.
According to an FDA spokesperson, Hahn has also tested negavive for the virus.
The three men were due to address a Senate committee on Tuesday.
Before the news about Fauci was made public, committee chairman Senator Lamar Alexander said Redfield and Hahn would be allowed to testify by videolink, the BBC reported.
Sunday’s development comes after Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary Katie Miller, the wife of President Donald Trump’s aide Stephen Miller, tested positive for the virus on Friday.
The same day it was also reported that the President’s daughter, Ivanka Trump’s personal assistant had tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The two cases were reported a day after Trump’s personal military valet was also confirmed to have the illness.
The US currently accounts for the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world.
As of Sunday, there were 1,309,54 cases in the country, while the death toll stood at 78,794, according to the Johns Hopkins University.
