White House closes executive office cafeteria after worker tests positive for COVID-19

A cafeteria in the White House complex was closed this week after an employee tested positive for COVID-19, three Trump administration officials told NBC News on Wednesday.

The cafeteria is in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, and run by a government contractor. Located next to the West Wing and home of the vice president's office, a majority of White House staffers work out of the building, including members of the National Security Council and the coronavirus task force.

The Eisenhower Executive Office Building is maintained by the General Services Administration, and a spokesperson told NBC News that "all proper protocols were in place by the vendor including masks, gloves, plastic shielding at check out, and no dine-in service. The White House Medical Unit has done contact tracing and determined that the risk of retransmission is low." The GSA did not say how long the cafeteria will remain closed, but administration officials told NBC News it might not reopen for another two weeks.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.