WASHINGTON — President Trump’s White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany has tested positive for COVID-19.McEnany announced her positive test result in a statement on Twitter Monday morning, after Trump spent the weekend in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center receiving treatment for his own case of the disease.McEnany became the latest high-profile Republican to test positive for COVID following Trump, three GOP Senators, and others in the wake of a White House garden party the previous weekend that may have been a super-spreader event for the novel coronavirus.“After testing negative consistently, including every day since Thursday, I tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday morning while experiencing no symptoms,” McEnany said in a statement on Monday.McEnany has addressed journalists multiple times without wearing a mask over the past few days, including at an indoor press briefing last Thursday and on the White House driveway over the weekend. But in her statement, she insisted that the White House does not think any members of the press corps should be considered close enough contacts to warrant concern.“No reporters, producers, or members of the press are listed as close contacts by the White House Medical Unit,” she said.
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McEnany defended her decision not to self-quarantine over the past few days, even though several other people in Trump’s circle have been diagnosed with the disease that continues to spread through the White House.“As an essential worker, I have worked diligently to provide needed information to the American People at this time,” she said. “With my recent positive test, I will begin the quarantine process and will continue working on behalf of the American People remotely.”