The White House on Monday ordered all personnel entering the West Wing, where daily operations of the Trump administration are carried out, to wear masks in the building after two staff members were tested positive for coronavirus, officials said. The new guidelines, released Monday afternoon in a memo to the staff of President Donald Trump, illustrate the strengthening of health procedures at the highest levels of the United States government, for fear that Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence may be exposed to the coronavirus.
Two cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed last week at the White House: a soldier employed by Donald Trump and the spokesperson for Mike Pence. Speaking at a press briefing on Monday, the 73-year-old US president said the cases did not mean that the White House system had failed. "I have not felt any kind of vulnerability , " said the president, adding that he felt the situation was "very well" controlled.
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Regardless, Donald Trump has indicated that he will consider the possibility of maintaining a distance between him and Mike Pence, perhaps by communicating only by telephone, for a period of time. Mike Pence worked at the White House on Monday but did not attend the press briefing for the President. Administration officials who appeared before the journalists were wearing masks and spoke at a desk separate from that of Donald Trump.
According to ABC News, which first reported the existence of the memo, non-essential visits to the west wing of the White House from other parts of the building were discouraged.