Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa covering President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. government, UN, IMF, World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington and New York.
At least three journalists who work at the White House have tested positive for COVID-19, just hours after President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Senior Trump adviser Hope Hicks, and several others tested positive for the virus on Thursday and Friday.
“Given these positive cases, the president’s diagnosis and positive cases among other members of the White House staff, a number of White House journalists are self-isolating pending diagnostic testing,” the White House correspondents association said in an email to its members on Friday.
Reports said a White House staffer who sits in the “lower press” area of the West Wing also tested positive for the coronavirus.
Friday’s first memo, obtained by CNN Business, said members of the press corps were being notified “so that you can make informed judgements.” The late morning memo said that “all other journalists tested today tested negative.”
CNN quoted a followup message at 1:33 p.m. carried word of another case of a sick journalist. “We are writing to let you know that another member of our press corps tested positive today for COVID-19,” the memo said. “This individual was last at the White House on Saturday and subsequently traveled on Air Force One to Pennsylvania. The individual began experiencing COVID-19 symptoms yesterday.”
CNN recalled that Saturday was the day of the Supreme Court announcement at the White House and President Trump’s rally in Pennsylvania.
CNN added that a third memo, at 3:35 p.m., said that a third member of the press corps has tested positive.
The individual was at the White House last Saturday and Sunday, and “began experiencing minor symptoms late Wednesday.”