WASHINGTON — The White House is requiring everyone who enters the West Wing to wear a mask or face covering after coronavirus scares near President Donald Trump.
A memo sent to all staff outlined the new directive Monday after two staffers last week tested positive for COVID-19.
The memo says: “We are requiring everyone who enters the West Wing to wear a mask or facial covering.”
Staff will be allowed to remove their face coverings if they sit at least six feet apart from their colleagues.
The directive is meant to protect the president, who has refrained from wearing a mask in public and in private.
A member of the military serving as one of the president's valets tested positive for the coronavirus last week. It marked the first of two coronavirus scares in a matter of days for the president.
On Friday, Vice President Mike Pence's spokeswoman, Katie Miller, tested positive. She had been in recent contact with Pence but not with the president. She is married to Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser. The White House had no immediate comment on whether Stephen Miller had been tested or if he was still working out of the White House.
Katie Miller had tested negative Thursday, a day before her positive result.