White House Correspondents Were Tested For COVID-19 This Week

White House reporters were required to take COVID-19 tests before attending President Donald Trump’s Thursday press briefing.

Correspondents were told to arrive at the White House 90 minutes prior to the scheduled briefing time.

A release from the White House Press Office said: “Out of an abundance of caution, the White House Medical Unit is going to conduct a COVID-19 test on all members of the press who plan to participate in today’s task force briefing, including correspondents, photographers, and technicians. These tests will be conducted with absolute privacy in a vacant office within lower press.”

In March, the White House Medical Unit began the practice of taking the temperatures of journalists who attend White House briefings. On the first day of temperature tests, an employee of the Chinese state-owned outlet China Central Television had a fever. As a result, he was refused access to the White House.