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Donald Trump’s personal valet has tested positive for the novel coronavirus COVID-19. On Thursday, May 7, the White House confirmed the news in a statement which marks the first known positive coronavirus test in the West Wing of the White House.
Despite the positive test for President Trump’s valet, the White House states the president and vice president have not tested positive.
“We were recently notified by the White House Medical Unit that a member of the United States Military, who works on the White House campus, has tested positive for Coronavirus,” principal deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley said in a statement.
“The President and the Vice President have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health.”
Trump’s personal valet is a member of the US Navy and began experiencing symptoms of the virus on Wednesday before his positive test, according to CNN. The president and vice president — along with senior White House staff members — are being tested for COVID-19 weekly. The testing is done with “rapid Abbott Labs test, which provide results in about 15 minutes.”
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The coronavirus mainly comes from animals and a majority of those who were infected early either worked at or frequently visited the Huanan seafood wholesale market in Wuhan, according to The Guardian. The virus is similar to Severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) and Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (Mers).
The Wuhan coronavirus is transmitted from person to person through “droplet transmission.” That means an infected person can pass the virus by sneezing or coughing on another person as well as by direct contact.
While a majority of the cases have been detected in the United States and China — with more than 74,500 deaths in the United States and more than 1 million confirmed cases — it has now reached many countries around the world. It has also been confirmed in Italy, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, and many other eastern countries.
