CDC epidemiologists are finally tracing the White House COVID-19 outbreak: report

Donald Trump's White House is finally working with health experts to trace the coronavirus outbreak that has sickened numerous senior officials.

"A week after a cluster of coronavirus cases emerged following a White House event, the Trump administration is now working on a limited basis with the federal government’s elite cadre of disease detectives to control further spread," The Washington Post reported Thursday. "Two epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are assisting the White House in tracking down people who may have been exposed to the coronavirus, CDC spokesman Jason McDonald said Thursday. One epidemiologist has been detailed to the White House since March and the second arrived recently."

Trump and more than 30 people have been linked to the White House outbreak.

"The White House by Tuesday completed contact tracing related to the president’s infection and cases involving several other people, a senior White House official said, raising concerns among infectious-disease experts about whether a thorough investigation could be completed so quickly. The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters, said anyone meeting the CDC’s definition of 'close contact' with someone who tested positive had been notified and given health recommendations," the newspaper reported.

"It remains unclear when the White House began contact tracing," The Post noted. "If the effort did not begin right away, or go far back enough, infections may have been missed, experts said."