Covid at the Trump White House: what we know so far

Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to Donald Trump, is the latest person in the president’s orbit to test positive for Covid-19. The immigration hardliner who has espoused white nationalist views said he will quarantine following his diagnosis. His wife, Katie Miller, who is the press secretary to Mike Pence, contracted the coronavirus earlier this year.

The White House shared rules for staff interacting with the infected president. In an email seen by the New York Times, White House staff were told to go to the second floor, where Trump is being treated, only if required. If there, those who had to go within six feet of the president were to wear gowns, surgical masks, eyewear and gloves. Others on the floor would need to wear only surgical masks and use hand sanitiser, the guidance said.

Top US military chiefs are quarantining after a senior coast guard official tested positive. The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, General Mark Milley, and the vice-chairman, General John Hyten, were among those affected, US officials said. Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement that none had exhibited symptoms or tested positive.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the White House is “in complete disarray” after Trump abruptly crushed talks between Democrats and Republicans on a fresh coronavirus economic relief bill. News that negotiations failed triggered an immediate stock market selloff though some markets later recovered. Pelosi accused Trump of “putting himself first at the expense of the country”.

Mike Pence is expected to debate Kamala Harris on Wednesday, as planned. Despite Pence being in contact with Donald Trump and others who have tested positive for Covid-19, the White House physician has given him the go-ahead to resume normal activity, contradicting CDC guidelines to quarantine for two weeks after exposure to the virus.

Joe Biden placed the next presidential debate in doubt. Biden told reporters: “I think if [Trump] still has Covid, we shouldn’t have a debate.” He will be “guided by the guidelines of the Cleveland Clinic and what the docs say is the right thing to do”, he said.

Californian Democratic representative Salud Carbajal has tested positive for coronavirus, joining the three GOP senators who have tested positive since Trump’s infection was confirmed. Carbajal said he initially tested negative after exposure to someone with the virus – reported to be Senator Mike Lee – but subsequently tested positive.

Doubts have been cast on White House contact-tracing efforts. CNN reported that staff working at the White House complex were told in an email that all contact tracing for positive cases at the White House has been completed. However, New York Times correspondent Michael D Shear, who tested positive for coronavirus, told CNN there had been “no outreach by the White House to do contact tracing or to follow up on his condition.” CNN added that, “At least one other White House official told CNN that they’ve also alerted officials that they have had direct contact with positive White House personnel, and received no guidance on how to proceed.”

Trump has no events scheduled for Wednesday. For the fifth day in a row, Trump’s official schedule lists no public events. The schedule for Friday last week was the last to list any public events, and it was just one: “a phone call on Covid-19 support to vulnerable seniors”.

Biden gave a speech on the historic fields of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Biden expressed concern that America is so divided it’s in a “dangerous place” but not irretrievable. He also called on Americans to follow the “scientific recommendations” for how to protect themselves against coronavirus, including wearing a mask and social distancing, in his campaign speech this afternoon.