White House wanted to keep Hope Hicks’s positive COVID-19 test private: report

Senior White House staff wanted to keep news of Hope Hicks’s positive coronavirus test private, Bloomberg News reported Friday.

Hicks tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday, a source confirmed to The Hill, but only a very small circle of people initially knew Hicks had tested positive, and senior staff sought to keep that information from being made public, according to Bloomberg.

A White House spokesperson told The Hill on Friday that it’s up to Hicks, not the White House, to decide whether to make personal health information public.

Bloomberg reported that after news of Hicks’s diagnosis, White House staff began planning how to handle campaigning and presidential duties in a scenario where President Trump tests positive for the virus. Hours later, the president and first lady Melania Trump announced that they tested positive for the virus.

Aides close to the president said they sensed he was not feeling well starting Wednesday, according to Bloomberg. Some aides did not learn about the president’s illness until Friday morning.

The Trumps said they are “feeling good” and quarantining for now. The president has canceled upcoming campaign events, with the election just a month away on Nov. 3.