WASHINGTON: One of President Donald Trump’s valets has tested positive for coronavirus, but the US leader has tested negative, the White House said on Thursday.

“We were recently notified by the White House medical unit that a member of the United States military, who works on the White House campus, has tested positive for coronavirus,” White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement.

“The President and the Vice President have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health,” Mr Gidley said.

The valets are members of an elite military unit dedicated to the White House and often work close to the President and the first family.

According to CNN, Mr Trump was upset when informed on Wednesday that his valet had tested positive and he was then tested again by the White House physician.

The US Defence Department said in a statement that this Navy person “will quarantine at home and will receive medical care as needed”. The White House declined to say whether President Trump planned to quarantine as well.

People who came into close contact with the president have tested positive for the deadly virus in the past as well, but such close calls have had little impact on Mr Trump’s plan to resume normal activities after weeks of lockdown.

The US media reported on Thursday that the Trump administration had decided not to implement the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) guidelines for reopening America.

The recommendations advocate a gradual approach for resuming normal activities and urge the administration not to reopen schools and churches yet.

President Trump, however, has said repeatedly that he would quickly reopen the American economy.

Officials of the CDC told media outlets that the White House had asked them to prepare this 17-page document, but also indicated that their recommendations cannot be implemented.

Health experts told a congressional hearing on Wednesday that it would be irresponsible to end the lockdown abruptly.

The hearing was supposed to include the head of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Dr Anthony Fauci, but the White House blocked him.

“It is inevitable there will be future outbreaks,” Dr Tom Frieden, President and CEO of Resolve to Save Lives and a former CDC Chief, told the congressional panel. “It’s not inevitable that we will be so under-prepared.”

Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2020