Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House Outbreak Spreads: Stephen Miller Has COVID, Joint Chiefs Isolate
Politico: Top Trump Aide Stephen Miller Tests Positive For Covid
Stephen Miller, a top aide to President Donald Trump, said on Tuesday he had tested positive for Covid-19.Miller, a senior adviser to the president with a wide-ranging portfolio in the White House, joins Trump’s wife, press secretary, campaign manager, party chair, counselor and numerous other staffers who have tested positive for coronavirus. Trump himself spent his first full day at the White House on Tuesday after a three-day stay at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center while being treated for the disease. (Lippman, 10/6)
The Washington Post: Joint Chiefs Officers In Isolation After Coast Guard Admiral Tests Positive For Coronavirus, Pentagon Says
The White House’s handling of an event for the family members of deceased U.S. troops was thrust into a new light on Tuesday amid the disclosure that a Coast Guard admiral who attended has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, forcing some of the military’s top generals and admirals into quarantine. The Sept. 27 ceremony, held on Gold Star Mother’s and Family’s Day with dozens of people in attendance, recognized the families of 20 deceased service members, according to a copy of the event program obtained by The Washington Post. (Lamothe and Ryan, 10/6)
The Hill: Fourth White House Press Aide Tests Positive For COVID-19
White House press aide Jalen Drummond tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, according to a Bloomberg News reporter, adding to the growing list of people to contract the virus after attending a White House Rose Garden ceremony. Drummond is the third aide under White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany to test positive for COVID-19. (Williams, 10/6)
Politico: California Congressman Says He Got Coronavirus After Sen. Mike Lee Interaction
Rep. Salud Carbajal announced Tuesday he tested positive for the coronavirus and said it came after he interacted indoors with Sen. Mike Lee, who revealed he had Covid-19 hours after President Donald Trump said he was diagnosed with the disease. Carbajal, a Central Coast Democrat, said in a statement that he began to experience "mild symptoms" and subsequently tested positive after being exposed to someone with the virus. (White, 10/6)
Politico: The 34 People Who Have Tested Positive In The Trump Covid Outbreak
Here’s who has tested positive thus far, the day we learned about their result and what we know about their condition. (Niedzwiadek, 10/6)
In related news —
The New York Times: The White House Bet On Abbott's Rapid Tests. It Didn't Work Out.
After months of crowded events and often maskless encounters, a growing number of top government officials, including President Trump, and their close contacts have tested positive for the coronavirus. The fault for the outbreak lies in no small part with an ill-conceived disease-prevention strategy at the White House, health experts said: From the early days of the pandemic, federal officials have relied too heavily on one company’s rapid tests, with little or no mechanism to identify and contain cases that fell through the diagnostic cracks. (Wu, 10/6)
The Washington Post: White House Signals Stronger Coronavirus Precautions, But Trump Continues To Resist
The White House offered an informal nod to coronavirus best practices Tuesday, with mask-wearing prevalent after months of flouting public health recommendations and new internal guidelines for interacting with President Trump, who tested positive for the virus late last week. But the biggest source of resistance appeared to be Trump himself, who, despite having just come home from a three-night hospitalization, was defiant — lobbying to return immediately to work in the Oval Office, discussing an address to the nation as early as Tuesday evening and clamoring to get back on the campaign trail in the coming days. (Parker and Dawsey, 10/6)
The New York Times: Trump May Have Covid, But Many Of His Supporters Still Scoff At Masks
Entering Ted’s Bar and Grill on Monday, Tim Girvin briefly slid on a “Trump 2020” face mask, before whisking it off to join friends at a table for lunch. He said those few seconds were the only time he wore a mask all day. “I have my own business and I don’t have anybody wear a mask in my business,” said Mr. Girvin, a used-car dealer. “I don’t buy into it. When you look at the facts, with how many people die of influenza every year. Obesity kills more people than the Wuhan virus does.” (Gabriel, 10/6)
