One of President Donald Trump’s personal Navy valets has reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus.
As the Trump administration continues to take steps to reopen the nation's economy, this latest development, according to CNN, is raising concerns about the president's possible exposure to COVID-19.
Trump said Friday that the valet was in the Oval Office with him Tuesday, the same day he began exhibiting symptoms, according to a White House correspondent with CBS News Radio.
Late Thursday morning, the White House said both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have tested negative for the coronavirus, adding the valet began exhibiting symptoms Wednesday.
According to NBC, the valet works in the West and is part of a team who brings the president his Diet Coke and meals.
Earlier this week, Trump was photographed by reporters not wearing a mask as he toured a Honeywell facility Tuesday in Phoenix.
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Before boarding Air Force One to go to the plant, Trump told reporters he would wear a mask "if it was a mask facility." He also said he and his staff have been tested for the coronavirus.
While signs at the facility indicate people are to wear masks at all times, a White House official said they were told by a Honeywell official that they didn't need to wear masks.
On Thursday, The Associated Press reported a document created by the nation's top disease investigators, with step-by-step advice to local authorities on how and when to reopen restaurants and other public places during the outbreak, has been shelved by the Trump administration.
The 17-page report by a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention team, titled "Guidance for Implementing the Opening Up America Again Framework," was researched and written to help faith leaders, business owners, educators and state and local officials as they begin to reopen.
It was supposed to be published last Friday, but agency scientists were told the guidance “would never see the light of day,” according to a CDC official. The official was not authorized to talk to reporters and spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity.
The Atlanta-based CDC issued updated guidelines last month in which it recommended people wear masks and facial coverings in situations where social distancing is not possible, such as in a grocery store, press pool or elsewhere in public, especially in essential worker facilities, including hospitals and mask manufacturing plants.
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