Over 130 Secret Service agents have tested positive for COVID-19and mandated to self-isolate or are currently in quarantine after being in close proximity with infected colleagues according to reports. The agents who are supposed to help protect the White House and travel with the President and other important dignitaries are suffering from the aftermath of the 2020 election campaign rallies according to the reports.
The sources which have chosen to remain anonymous pointed out that the rallies which President Donald Trump conducted during the election are responsible for the rapid spread of the infectious disease amongst the officers. Two of the sources revealed that in total, 300 agents of the Secret Service have been mandated to self-isolate or quarantine within the eight months of increased travels and rallies.
Quite an alarming number of senior aides to the president have continued to reveal that they tested positive for COVID-19 after the rallies which relaxed masks rules for attendees – even after the CDC warned that masks can help stop the disease. Members of the Republican National Committee who, reports note, hold meetings in large numbers have also tested positive for the COVID-19.
Judd Deere, White House spokesman has responded to the reports saying that the Trump administration takes every case of the disease seriously and directing reporters with further questions about the increasing number of infected Secret Service agents to the top officials of the agency. One of the spokespersons of the agency however refused to address the issue, according to reports.
The Secret Service released a statement stating that it has continued to stay on top of the situation in the White House.
“Our officials regularly review what we need to keep serving the country during the pandemic and ensure that we stay prepared and sufficiently staffed to perform our crucial protective and investigative duties, and neither of these duties has been impaired by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the agency stated.
The president traveled to different places during the final lap of the 2020 campaign. He made five campaign stops in the day before the election and required groups of dozens of Secret Service agents to ensure protection at each place. President-elect Joe Biden also made two campaign stops, but he required the services of a smaller number of agents.
A government official has also informed reporters that the Secret Service is looking into reports that some infections might not be from the president’s many travels but from the White House itself. The staff of the White House has been known to ignore masks and the Secret Service agents have sometimes gone without them while working at the complex.
There have been reports that the president frowns upon the use of masks in the White House and often complains whenever he sees members of staff with them.
Source: washingtonpost.com
