Labor Secretary’s Wife Tests Positive For COVID

Politico: Eugene Scalia’s Wife Tests Positive For Coronavirus 
The wife of Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday afternoon, the department told its employees in a Tuesday night email. Trish Scalia “is experiencing mild symptoms but doing well,” the Labor Department wrote, adding that Secretary Scalia had tested negative and experienced no symptoms of the virus. The agency didn’t specify whether Trish Scalia would self-isolate, but did say, “The Secretary and Mrs. Scalia will follow the advice of health professionals for Trish’s recovery and the health of those around them.” Secretary Scalia, his wife and his mother sat in the second row for the late-September introduction of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett at the White House. (Bermel, 10/13)

Politico: Murphy: No Covid Outbreaks Linked To Trump’s Bedminster Fundraiser
New Jersey Gov Phil Murphy said Tuesday that state and local health officers have not identified any outbreaks of coronavirus linked to attendance at a fundraiser earlier this month at President Donald Trump’s golf club in Bedminster. “We’re not aware of any outbreaks and the federal response was extremely disappointing,” Murphy told reporters after an unrelated press conference with Sen. Bob Menendez, Rep. Tom Malinowski (both D-N.J.) and state legislative leaders in Somerset County, about 20 miles from Trump National Golf Club Bedminster. (Sutton, 10/13)

The Washington Post: Melania Trump Is Having A Hard Time Distancing Herself From The President 
The day after President Trump made his dramatic return from the hospital, taking off his mask in an “Evita”-style moment outside the White House residence before walking inside, the office of first lady Melania Trump, who was also sick with the coronavirus, released an incredibly detailed statement on the precautions it had taken since March to protect the members of the staff — the butlers, housekeepers, florists, chefs — working in the executive residence. The timing of the statement, about the care she is taking to prevent the spread of the virus while her infectious husband returned to the White House, was its own kind of statement. It seemed to be her way of answering an outcry of concern over the safety of the residence staff. This first lady with what can at times seem like an antagonistic relationship with the press, who rarely gives interviews or deviates from her prepared remarks at public appearances, was following her own playbook. (Yuan, 10/13)