Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Who Could Trump Have Exposed? Tracing The White House Outbreak
President Donald Trump's coronavirus diagnosis exposes the Capitol's laissez-faire approach to testing for the deadly disease, particularly for congressional Republicans who interact regularly with the president and his top aides. The president regularly hosts Republican senators at the White House, including for the introduction of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. At these events, these lawmakers and much of the crowd are maskless. (Levine and Everett, 10/2)
Trump, 74, is known for staying busy and traveling around the country for both work and play. But he was especially active these past seven days, including hosting rallies, taking part in the debate, and introducing his Supreme Court nominee. The White House uses rapid tests made by Abbott that allow for quicker results and officials are tested frequently. It can take up to four days to develop enough viral particles in your nose for a test to come back positive, meaning the day you are exposed, you likely would not get positive test results. (Hayes, 10/2)
On Monday, President Trump updated the nation on the administration’s coronavirus testing strategy and announced a plan to distribute 150 million rapid tests. By early Friday morning, he had the virus himself. On the days in between, Mr. Trump interacted with scores of staff members, donors and supporters. Even the woman he has nominated to the Supreme Court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, has been at the White House this week. (Karni and Haberman, 10/2)
With just a month to go until the election, President Donald Trump had a busy schedule during the week the coronavirus hit home with him. Trump tweeted early Friday that he and first lady Melania Trump had tested positive for the coronavirus. (10/2)
A small group of White House officials knew by Thursday morning that Hicks had contracted Covid-19, according to CNN Correspondent Kaitlan Collins — but Trump still took a trip to New Jersey for a fundraiser, and press secretary Kayleigh McEnany still held a news briefing at the White House on Thursday. McEnany didn't wear a mask at the briefing, and made no mention of Hicks' diagnosis to reporters in the room, Collins said. (10/2)
Staff at the White House Executive Residence are feeling "nervous" over President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump testing positive for Covid-19, a source familiar with White House operations told CNN Friday. The residence staff, who serve, cook and clean for the first family, is "very careful, but there is concern," the source said. (Bennett, Salama and Marquardt, 10/2)