White House initiated contact tracing after aide tested positive: spokeswoman

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Contact tracing was put into place at the White House immediately after Trump aide Hope Hicks tested positive for coronavirus, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Friday.

"Immediately there was contact tracing that was put into place and all of the necessary procedures," McEnany said without elaborating on when Hicks received her positive result.

She said Trump got his positive result on Thursday night and "within an hour, we put out that information to the American people."

In separate remarks to reporters, McEnany said it was considered safe for Trump to travel to his resort in Bedminster, New Jersey, for a private fundraiser on Thursday.

"It was deemed safe for the president to go. He socially distanced, it was an outdoor event and it was deemed safe by White House operations for him to attend that event," she said.

She also told reporters she was not aware that Hicks had tested positive when she held a briefing at the White House on Thursday morning.

Trump did not participate in the one item remaining on his schedule on Friday, but McEnany said he had telephone calls with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham. She said he discussed emergency declarations and the coronavirus stimulus package with Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.

"We're just trying to make sure that he takes it easy but he's hard at work and will continue to," she said on Fox.

She declined to say whether Trump would make a national address.

"It's safe to say that you'll be seeing and hearing from the president as he moves forward with his working schedule," she said. "We're exploring a number of different ways to do that, but he wants to talk to the American people."

(Reporting by Alexandra Alper, Steve Holland and Doina Chiacu; Editing by Diane Craft and Daniel Wallis)