White House to be 'thoroughly disinfected' for Covid-19 after Trump's exit and before Biden's arrival: Report
A federal agency has revealed that the White House will be deep cleaned to prevent the spread of COVID-19 after President Donald Trump and his staffers exit the building and before Joe Biden and his administration arrives at the Oval Office - should the results of the disputed November election hold.
Speaking to Politico on Wednesday, the General Services Administration said it would "thoroughly clean and disinfect" surfaces that may have been touched by members of Trump's team prior to their exit, including light switches, door handles, and furniture. A 10-month federal contract states that one firm will be paid almost $30,000 every month to provide "disinfectant misting services" in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the White House.
In total, at least 45 people connected to the Trump White House have contracted the virus in recent months. Apart from Trump himself, top staffers including chief of staff Mark Meadow, press secretary Kayleigh McEnany among were infected by the virus.
In July, the CDC said that the deadly virus could survive on various surfaces for hours or even days. It also advised Americans to clean and disinfect visibly dirty surfaces as a precaution. Nonetheless, the agency noted that the transmission of coronavirus from surfaces to human beings had "not been documented" at the time. "Based on data from lab studies on COVID-19 and what we know about similar respiratory diseases, it may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose or possibly their eyes, but this isn't thought to be the main way the virus spreads," the CDC said in May.
The General Services Administration revealed its plans as Biden's transition team declared that Americans would be mandated to wear masks in all federal buildings and public transport in the first 100 days of the new administration.
Biden has made it clear that he wants to enforce such a mandate with an executive order on the first day of his presidency. "I'm absolutely convinced that in 100 days we can change the course of the disease and change life in America for the better," he said at a press conference. "My first 100 days, I'm going to ask for a masking plan. Everyone for the first 100 days of my administration to wear a mask."
"We're going to require masks wherever possible, but this goes beyond government action," the former veep added. "And so, as the new president, I'm going to speak directly to the American people and say what I'm saying now: We need your help. Wear a mask for just 100 days."
Speaking to CNN last week, Biden said he had asked Anthony Fauci to continue as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and join his administration's COVID-19 response team. "When Dr. Fauci says we have a vaccine that is safe, that's the moment in which I will stand before the public and say that," the apparent president-elect said.
According to Johns Hopkins University, the seven-day moving average of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases stood at roughly 200,000 earlier this week -- albeit this could be a result of ramped-up testing operations. However, COVID-19 hospitalizations are believed to have hit record numbers of late.