Reporter tests positive for the coronavirus after attending two White House press briefings with Kayleigh McEnany this week

Eliza Relman

July 10, 2020 3:18 PM

A reporter tested positive for the coronavirus after attending two White House briefings this week, the White House Correspondents' Association announced on Thursday.

White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany talks to reporters during a news conference in the Brady Press Briefing Room June 30, 2020 in Washington, DC.

WHCA president Jonathan Karl said the reporter, who he did not name, attended briefings on July 6 and July 8 and wore a mask for the entirety of the time they were inside the White House complex.
Karl added that the reporter is asymptomatic, and the WHCA is contacting individuals who the person believes they came in "closer contact" with.
Many White House staffers, including those who attend the briefings, do not wear masks or social distance while at work, despite the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's guidelines.
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A reporter tested positive for the coronavirus after attending two White House briefings this week, the White House Correspondents' Association announced on Thursday.

WHCA president Jonathan Karl said the reporter, who he did not name, attended briefings with press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on July 6 and July 8 and wore a mask for the entirety of the time they were inside the White House complex.

Karl added that the reporter is asymptomatic, and the WHCA is contacting individuals who the person believes they came in "closer contact" with.

"Other than the briefings, this person did not spend time working out of the White House and was only in briefing room itself, not elsewhere in our workspace," Karl, ABC News' chief White House correspondent, wrote in an email.

The White House did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Many White House staffers, including those who attend the briefings, do not wear masks or social distance while at work, despite federal guidelines recommending mask-wearing in spaces where social distancing is difficult. But the administration has limited the number of reporters allowed in the briefing room at any given time and required them to wear face coverings.

This comes after two White House aides Vice President Mike Pence's press secretary Katie Miller, and the president's personal valet were infected with the virus in May.

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