Dr. Anthony Fauci To Go Into 'Modified Quarantine'

Fauci is one of three top U.S. health officials heading into quarantine

Three top U.S. health officials serving on the White House coronavirus task force are heading into quarantine after coming in contact with a White House staffer who tested positive for COVID-19.

Politico reports that Dr. Anthony Fauci, the president’s top infectious-disease expert, and Robert Redfield, CDC director, disclosed plans on Saturday to isolate over the next two weeks. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn, on the other hand, began his two-week quarantine on Friday, the same day White House spokesperson Katie Miller tested positive for COVID-19. And according to CNN, Miller is known to often be present at coronavirus task force meetings. One of President Donald Trump’s valets also tested positive for the disease this week.

Because Hahn came into contact with Miller, according to Politico, he will do a full quarantine. Fauci said he will begin a “modified quarantine,” CNN reports, due to the fact that he made a “low risk” contact with someone who tested positive. Redfield will self-quarantine for two weeks. What we don’t know, however, is the identity of the person to whom Hahn or Redfield we’re exposed, as officials will not identify said person.

According to CNN, a “modified quarantine” entails staying at home, teleworking, and wearing a mask continually for 14 days. Fauci told the news outlet that he “might also go to his office at the National Institutes of Health where he is the only one there” and will be tested every day. He added that if he is called to the White House or Capitol Hill, he will go “while taking every precaution.”

All three health officials are expected to testify at a Senate hearing about the coronavirus next week. Redfield and Hahn will now do so remotely.

“It is scary to go to work,” White House senior adviser Kevin Hassett told CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday. “I was not part of the White House in March. I think that I’d be a lot safer if I was sitting at home instead of going to the West Wing. But, you know, it’s a time when people have to step up and serve their country.”

Following Miller testing positive, the White House sent out an email to all staff on Friday detailing the measures they are taking to prevent the spread of the virus. It included “maintaining maximum telework for staff, reporting travel, and monitoring one’s own symptoms,” CNN reports. They’ll also perform “heightened levels of cleaning” at “high-touch points” in the White House and Eisenhower Executive Office Building. The email — nor the memo sent a day prior — mentioned anything about wearing face masks, however.

Information about COVID-19 is rapidly changing, and Scary Mommy is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. With news being updated so frequently, some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For this reason, we are encouraging readers to use online resources from local public health departments, the Centers for Disease Control, and the World Health Organization to remain as informed as possible.