Ivanka Trump's personal assistant tests COVID-19 positive

Washington, May 9: The personal assistant of Ivanka Trump, US President Donald Trump's daughter and senior White House adviser, has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the media reported. But the assistant, who worked in personal capacity for Ivanka Trump, has not been around the her for weeks, Xinhua news agency quoted a CNN report as saying on Friday. The development came on the same day when Vice President Mike Pence's spokesperson, Katie Miller, was confirmed to have been infected with the disease. Amid concerns over the transmission of the contagious disease among senior administration officials, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said at Friday's briefing that measures were in effect to keep the virus from spreading among staff. Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, also a senior advisers, have tested negative for the virus. Trump, who along with Pence had tested negative, said on Friday that he was not worried, adding that "strong precautions" had been taken in the White House. Trump on Thursday ordered daily coronavirus testing at the White House after it was reported that personal military valet had tested positive for the deadly disease. The US currently accounts for the highest number of coronavirus cases and deaths in the world. As of Saturday, there were 1,283,929 cases in the country, while the death toll stood at 77,180, according to the Johns Hopkins University. (IANS)