FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn’s decision to self-quarantine is in accordance with guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
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Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
The commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration has entered self-quarantine for two weeks after coming into contact with a person who tested positive for the coronavirus. Stephen Hahn announced his decision to do so in an internal message to staff on Friday, according to an FDA spokesperson.
Hahn has not tested positive himself. The commissioner “immediately took a diagnostic test and tested negative for the virus,” said Stephanie Caccomo, an FDA press officer, in a statement to NPR on Saturday.
Hahn’s decision to self-quarantine — in accordance with guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — makes him just the latest member of President Trump’s orbit to be exposed to the virus this week.
Vice President Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive for the virus on Friday — “out of the blue,” Pence said, with no obvious symptoms. She is married to Stephen Miller, a senior adviser to Trump. Her diagnosis followed the news that a U.S. military aide who works in the White House also tested positive.
The FDA did not identify the person to whom Hahn had been exposed.
Both Trump and Pence have drawn criticism for breaking with CDC recommendations and appearing in public settings recently without donning some form of face covering. Earlier this week, Trump announced that testing around the White House would be undertaken daily rather than weekly and that valets working around him will now be required to wear face masks.
