FDA chief to self-quarantine after exposure to person with coronavirus

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Stephen Hahn will self-quarantine for the next two weeks after learning that he came in contact with someone who had tested positive for COVID-19, the agency says.

“Per [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines, he is now in self-quarantine for the next two weeks,” FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Caccomo told The Hill on Saturday. “He immediately took a diagnostic test and tested negative for the virus.”

The agency did not say who exposed the commissioner to the coronavirus. Politico, citing administration officials, reported that Hahn had come in contact with Vice President Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, who tested positive for the virus Friday.

The FDA commissioner was tested Friday, when he tested negative. The White House will continue to determine who should self-isolate on a case-by-case basis using contract tracing.

“We have put in place the guidelines that our experts have put forward to keep this building safe, which means contact tracing,” press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters at the White House on Friday.

“All of the recommended guidelines we have for businesses that have essential workers, we’re now putting in place here in the White House. So as America reopens safely, the White House is continuing to operate safely,” she added.

Miller is a top spokesperson for Pence and is married to White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, who writes many of President Trump’s speeches and is often in close proximity to the president and other White House advisers, including Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.

Hahn is reportedly asymptomatic and is expected to perform his full duties as FDA commissioner while he self-quarantines.