White House residence staffers who caught coronavirus were reportedly told to keep it quiet

(Image credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

published 5 October 2020

White House residence staffers are reasonably worried about the ongoing spread of COVID-19.

While President Trump was transferred to Walter Reed Medical Center on Friday after testing positive for COVID-19, he's headed back to the White House on Monday evening. First lady Melania Trump never left.

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Around 90 "ushers, butlers, housekeepers, valets, florists, engineers and cooks" make up the White House's permanent residence staff and usually stay on the job from president to president, The Washington Post details. "Discretion" is always a "key component" of their job, and "speaking out about anything, including working conditions, can be a cause for dismissal," the Post continues. But former staffers have come out to say they fear the first family hasn't worn masks around staffers, even in the residence's tight hallways.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

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