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Trump National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien has coronavirus

27 July 2020 17:25 (UTC +04:00)

President Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien has tested positive for Covid-19, according to people familiar with his situation, APA reports citing Bloomberg.

O’Brien has been out of the office since late last week, one of the people said.

O’Brien came down with the coronavirus after a family event and has been isolating at home while still running the National Security Council, doing most of his work by phone, according to one of the people.

All the people asked not to be named to discuss information that is not yet public.

The White House communications staff didn’t immediately comment.

O’Brien is the closest official to Trump to develop the novel coronavirus, as the pandemic continues to surge with infections and deaths on the rise in many U.S. states.

O’Brien and senior staff on the NSC are tested daily for Covid-19. His office is near the Oval Office and Vice President Mike Pence’s West Wing office.

There have been 16.2 million cases of coronavirus since the pandemic began earlier this year, with deaths passing 648,000, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. In the U.S., there have been more than 4.2 million cases and 146,935 deaths, according to the data.