A law enforcement official has confirmed that several Secret Service agents will be put through stringent quarantine as a precaution after Donald Trump's Tulsa rally that took place at the BOK Center recently. Along with the mass quarantine, the Secret Service agents who were with the president in his trips require to be tested for coronavirus for the next few days, an email received by the agency personnel confirms.
A law enforcement official made this revelation during an interview with CNN on June 24. An email sent to agency personnel on the same day was confirmed by the law enforcement official. Agents will be now tested for COVID-19 24 to 48 hours ahead of a presidential trip, according to the email. The new testing directive will be implemented until July 4.
Furthermore, the law enforcement official confirmed that there aren't too many agents that have been quarantined, explaining that the number is on the low side of dozens. In a report from The Washington Post, a Secret Service official has confirmed that the quarantining will not hamper the agency's ability to operate.
Explaining the decision to test all agents involved in presidential trips for COVID-19, the Secret Service official said they want to protect agency personnel during these unprecedented times of a pandemic. The official said they want to keep the workforce healthy so that they can continue protecting the people without jeopardizing their own, or the people's safety.
A US Secret Service source who was involved in organizing Saturday's rally and is currently practicing self-isolation told CNN that Dallas and Houston's agents were working at the event as well. Moreover, the source said they were informed that they would need to quarantine as soon as they reach home. The measure comes after two Secret Service agents who were present at the event tested positive for COVID-19, according to an insider.
US Secret Service spokesperson Catherine Milhoan released a statement to CNN noting that the U.S. Secret Service is prepared and has enough staff members to fulfill multiple duties as required. Milhoan said any suggestion that the agency is in some way incapable of carrying out its mission would be false.
The Secret Service is opting to not reveal the number of its employees that have tested positive for COVID-19 to protect their privacy and health information. She said details, such as the number of employees that are currently quarantined will also be kept under wraps.