KEY POINTS

  • Trump is hospitalized at Walter Reed where he is being treated for COVID-19
  • 11 people close to him have tested positive
  • The latest person to announce a positive test is press secretary Kayleigh McEnany

More than a dozen people close to President Donald Trump had tested positive for coronavirus as of Monday as the president recovered at Walter Reed National Military Hospital.

Trump was airlifted to the hospital Friday, suffering from fever and dropping blood oxygen levels. He has been treated with an experimental antibody cocktail, the antiviral drug Remdesivir and the steroid dexamethasone, which generally is given only in severe cases. Early in the pandemic, he dosed himself with the antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine, which since has proved dangerous to some patients and ineffective against the virus.

At least 11 people who have been in close contact with Trump in recent days have tested positive for the virus. Earlier in the pandemic, several other White House figures, including advance people for his Tulsa, Oklahoma, rally, an aide to Vice President Mike Pence, and Donald Trump Jr.’s girlfriend, Kimberly Guilfoyle.

The latest group to test positive includes:

  • First lady Melania Trump
  • Senior adviser Hope Hicks
  • Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien
  • Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who helped prepare Trump for last Tuesday’s debate
  • Former White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway (whose daughter said she also tested positive)
  • Republican Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel
  • Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah
  • Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.
  • Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.
  • Trump personal attendant Nick Luna
  • Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany

McEnany announced her positive test Monday. She gaggled with reporters without a mask Sunday evening.

White House staffers received an email late Sunday, directing them to stay home if they are exhibiting any symptoms of coronavirus.

Trump long has resisted coronavirus mitigation practices, refusing to wear a face mask in public or adhering to social distancing guidelines. Even while being treated for the virus, he left the hospital briefly Sunday to drive past supporters outside the facility, exposing his Secret Service bodyguards to the virus in a hermetically sealed armored SUV.

The U.S. COVID-19 death toll was just shy of 210,000 by early afternoon Monday.