More than 130 agents of the U.S. Secret Service agents on President Donald Trump’s core protection team – one out of every ten – have been sidelined by the coronavirus, either after contracting the deadly virus or due to quarantining after possible exposure to co-workers.
“The spread of the coronavirus,” The Washington Post reports, “is believed to be partly linked to a series of campaign rallies that President Trump held in the weeks before the Nov. 3 election.”
Separate teams of 20 to several dozen agents were required for each stop on President Donald Trump’s extensive re-election campaign rally schedule, exposing Secret Service agents to greater risk of exposure.
Former First Daughter Chelsea Clinton, who was a Secret Service protectee for several years, blasted President Donald Trump and his family upon learning the news:
But it not only the travel and the rallies that are cause for concern.
Some believe the spread among the ranks of Secret Service agents could be coming from the White House itself, where few wear masks and social distancing is not regularly observed.
In the most recent coronavirus cluster spread, at least 14 of President Donald Trump’s aides advisors in the past week have tested positive for COVID-19, The New York Times reports.
“They join at least 20 members of Mr. Trump’s administration, campaign and inner circle who have contracted the virus since late September, after an earlier outbreak among White House residence staff.”