New Covid outbreak hits US Secret Service: Report

The US Secret Service, which guards President Donald Trump, President-elect Joe Biden, and the White House, has been struck by an outbreak of Covid-19, US media reported Friday.

The Washington Post said that more than 130 Secret Service agents were infected by coronavirus or in quarantine due to contact with infected people.

The outbreak came after numerous agents traveled to campaign rallies with Trump where many officials and most of the attendees went maskless.

It also follows several White House events in the past three weeks led by Trump, including an election night party November 3, where most of those present also did not wear masks.

Afterward a number of officials reported positive Covid-19 tests, including Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows.

The New York Times said at least 30 uniformed Secret Service officers had tested positive in recent weeks in a "sustained" outbreak, and some 60 have been told to quarantine.

It was the latest of several waves of infection to hit the service since the pandemic struck the United States.

Several Secret Service agents were forced to self-quarantine after a Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma in June.

(Source: NDTV)