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White House disputes Kudlow claim that Trump worked in Oval Office

Photo: Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

The White House denied Wednesday that President Trump worked in the Oval Office on Tuesday while still suffering from coronavirus, despite an assertion otherwise from by White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow.

The state of play: Kudlow told CNBC's "Squawk Box" that Trump had worked in the Oval with unspecified "extra precautions" to protect against the spread of the virus.

  • He declined to "be specific" on whether Trump wore a mask, instead insisting that "traffic is limited" in the Oval and that "additional measures ... much greater than simply masking" had been taken.

The other side: White House communications aide Ben Williamson pushed back on Kudlow's claim, tweeting that Trump "wanted to be in the Oval Office" but instead "stayed back in the residence working from there."

  • "Safety preparations have been underway in the event he moves to working out of the Oval in the coming days," Williamson added.

The big picture: Trump announced that he tested positive on Friday, though his doctors have not confirmed that timeline. The CDC states that a person can be contagious for up to 10 days after coronavirus symptoms resolve.

Go deeper

Rebecca Falconer
Jan 14, 2021 - Health

WHO team arrives in China to investigate pandemic origins

Health workers at a cordoned-off section of the international airport in Wuhan, China, as the World Health Organization team arrives on Thursday. Photo: Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images

A World Health Organization team of researchers arrived in Wuhan, China, Thursday ahead of their investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Driving the news: Dominic Dwyer, a Sydney virologist based who's among the scientists on the visit, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation they don't expect to find a "patient zero." "But we may have a much better indication of whether the virus truly started in Wuhan," he said.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Jan 14, 2021 - Health

SoCal on the brink

A COVID-19 ICU at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital in the Willowbrook neighborhood of Los Angeles. Photo: Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Southern California's COVID outbreak is in a terrible place, and hospitals haven't even been hit with a wave of potential infections from Christmas and New Year's.

The big picture: Hospitalizations have stabilized, but public health officials say that's just from infections linked to Thanksgiving, the L.A. Times reports.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow
Axios
Jan 14, 2021 - Health

Coronavirus deaths climbing while country deals with political unrest

Expand chart
Data: The COVID Tracking Project; Map: Andrew Witherspoon/Axios

Coronavirus deaths continue to reach tragic heights while the country grapples with a vaccine rollout, an impeachment and ongoing civil unrest.

Go deeper (<1 min. read)Arrow