As the COVID-19 pandemic has raged for nearly two months, many people in the US have grown exhausted with the lockdown measures necessary to slow the spread of the disease. However, medical experts agree that in lieu of a robust testing and tracing effort, lockdowns are the best way to preserve public health.
Amidst this, the White House has sought to downplay the importance of testing. President Donald Trump, during press conferences, has emphasized that the country needs to reopen the economy. He’s dismissed calls for ramping up testing at a national level. According to the president, it’s up to state governors to handle testing efforts in their own states.
However, Trump’s messaging on testing is undercut by his administration’s own testing and tracing efforts. Last week, it was revealed that one of Trump’s personal valets has been diagnosed with COVID. Likewise, Stephanie Miller, an assistant to Vice President Mike Pence, was diagnosed with the illness last week.
Further, some eleven Secret Service members have also been confirmed to have the disease. Testing around the White House has been aggressive. Sources close to the president note that he’s always been very touchy about germs. Now, he’s even more sensitive to the prospect of getting sick. Anyone who wants to get into a room with the president has to clear a COVID-19 test.
Thanks to the outbreak now being discovered within the walls of the White House, the Trump Administration is spinning up contact tracing. The attempts to ferret out where each personnel member could have been infected have been wide-ranging.
Many pundits online have noted that this is, at least, pretty ironic. Trump’s public stance has been to downplay the importance of testing and contact tracing. Some critics feel that this is a tactic designed to allay fears about the economy. After all, Trump notably measures his own success in terms of TV ratings and the stock market’s performance.
What’s more, Trump’s chances at reelection will largely hinge on the economy. Before the pandemic, Trump was riding on the strong economic performance during his first three years in office. Now, those close to the president say he finds it unfair that the economy is tanking due to circumstances he feels are out of his control.
While those in the White House have the protection of the best medical, the best vision insurance plan, the best testing and the best contact tracing, the rest of us might not. While Trump is eager for Americans to get back to work, with or without testing, he’s ramping up the testing and tracing efforts inside the White House.
