Trump's Campaign Manager Tests Positive for COVID After Telling Staff Without Symptoms There's No Need For Them to Quarantine
President Donald Trump's campaign manager Bill Stepien tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the latest in the administration to contract the disease. Stepien received was diagnosed on Friday evening and was experiencing what one senior campaign official described as "mild flu-like symptoms," according to Politico.
The campaign manager tested positive for Covid-19 on the same day that RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel and former counsellor to the president, Kellyanne Conway, also received the same diagnosis.
Earlier Friday, Stepien sent a memo to staff saying that anyone who had exposure to someone else that has tested positive should immediately self-quarantine.
"While we do not believe anyone without symptoms needs to self-quarantine at this time, it is on all of us to continue to exercise the smart judgment and practices the campaign has long encouraged," he said, including mask-wearing and handwashing.
While heralded as the principal way to stop the spread of Covid-19, mask-wearing has not been taken on board full time by the Trump campaign.
During the presidential debate on Tuesday, members of the Trump family were seen not wearing masks while watching the event. This had been a requirement set by the Cleveland Health Clinic, which handled health and safety aspects at the debate.
Hope Hicks, one of the president's main advisors, was the first to test positive for the virus on Wednesday evening, along with several other staff members and White House members. Jason Miller, also part of Trump's debate team, tested negative for the virus.
The president carried out campaign events on Thursday despite the White House knowing of Hicks' diagnosis and tested positive for the virus early in the morning on Friday along with first lady Melania Trump.
On Friday afternoon, the president was taken aboard the Marine One to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Trump is expected to remain at the hospital for a few days while being treated.
Several cases of COVID-19 within the GOP could potentially be traceable to the September event at the White House in which Amy Coney Barrett was nominated for the U.S Supreme Court.
Along with the president, the first lady and Conway, those who were at the event and have since tested positive for the virus are: Utah Senator Mike Lee, North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis and the president of the University of Notre Dame, Father John Jenkins.
Joe Biden and his wife Dr. Jill Biden tested negative for the virus on Friday, after which Biden carried on his campaign efforts, traveling to speak at Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Friday afternoon.
