Ivanka Trump, President Donald Trump‘s daughter and senior advisor, worked from home on Friday after learning she recently met with an Australian official who later tested positive for coronavirus. The White House medical staff told Trump she did not need to self-quarantine, but did so “out of an abundance of caution.” The meeting took place last week.
Trump met with Australian minister for home affairs Peter Dutton on March 5 in Washington, D.C., along with Attorney General William Barr. News broke on Friday that Dutton tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Dutton was not showing symptoms at the time of the meeting.
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“The White House is aware that Mr. Dutton tested positive for COVID-19. He was asymptomatic during the interaction,” White House deputy press secretary Judd Deere said in a statement to The Hill. “Exposures from the case were assessed and the White House Medical Unit confirmed, in accordance with CDC guidance, that Ivanka is exhibiting no symptoms and does not need to self-quarantine. She worked from home today out of an abundance of caution until guidance was given.”
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf and ministers from the U.K., New Zealand and Canada also attended the March 5 news conference with Dutton. The Australian official later shared a photo of himself with Trump, Barr and White House counselor Kellyanne Conway after the conference.
On Friday, Dutton shared a statement on social media, confirming he recently felt symptoms of the disease and was tested for COVID-19.
“This morning I woke up with a temperature and sore throat,” Dutton wrote. “I immediately contacted the Queensland Department of Health and was subsequently tested for COVID-19. I was advised by Queensland Health this afternoon that the test had returned positive.”
“It is the policy of Queensland Health that anyone who tests positive is to be admitted into hospital and I have complied with their advice,” Dutton continued. “I feel fine and will provide an update in due course.”
There are more than 137,400 confirmed coronavirus cases in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University research. There are more than 1,700 cases in the U.S., and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Friday there have been 41 deaths, reports USA Today.
On Friday afternoon, President Trump declared a national emergency to free up $50 billion in additional disaster funding. He said the measures will allow “maximum flexibility to respond to the virus and to care for patients.”
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