The risk of catching coronavirus has started to 'frazzle' some Secret Service agents

(Image credit: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

published 3 July 2020

As President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence continue to host events in areas hard-hit by the coronavirus crisis, the Secret Service agents assigned to look after them are starting to fear for their own health and safety, The Washington Post reports.

"The heightened risk of agents getting sick" while preparing for rallies in states like Arizona and Oklahoma "has begun to frazzle agents and their families," the Post reports, citing people close to agents. Their worries aren't unfounded: The Post says Pence was forced to duck out of a "Faith in America" campaign rally scheduled for Tuesday in Arizona after some of his Secret Service agents displayed coronavirus symptoms and at least one tested positive. Pence postponed his visit until Wednesday so that new, healthy agents could be brought in.

This is the second time recently that Secret Service agents have contracted the virus while prepping for an event for the administration. Two agents tested positive before Trump's controversial rally in Tulsa on June 20, and at least eight campaign staff members who helped plan the event have also tested positive. Catherine Milhoan, the director of communications for the Secret Service, told The New York Times that "the health and safety of our work force, their families, and that of our protectees remains the agency's highest priority."

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Jessica Hullinger is a writer and former deputy editor of The Week Digital. Originally from the American Midwest, she completed a degree in journalism at Indiana University Bloomington before relocating to New York City, where she pursued a career in media. After joining The Week as an intern in 2010, she served as the title’s audience development manager, senior editor and deputy editor, as well as a regular guest on “The Week Unwrapped” podcast. Her writing has featured in other publications including Popular Science, Fast Company, Fortune, and Self magazine, and she loves covering science and climate-related issues.

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