- President
Trump 's former communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, told CNN on Friday he believes the White House is on the way to having more COVID-19 cases thanNew Zealand . - "You are going to come to a situation where the West Wing and the members of Congress are going to have more Covid-19 [cases] than the entire country of New Zealand due to this laxity, " Scaramucci said.
- A
coronavirus outbreak is sweeping the White House, with reports of at least eight people — including the president and First Lady Melania Trump — who have tested positive for the virus. - New Zealand, one of the world's most successful countries in fighting the pandemic, has 41 active cases, according to the government's official website.
President Donald Trump's former communications director, Anthony Scaramucci, told CNN the White House is on the way to having more COVID-19 cases than New Zealand.
Speaking to CNN's Anthony Cooper on Friday, the former White House communications director said he hopes "this is a wake-up call for the president and staff."
"You are going to come to a situation where the West Wing and the members of Congress are going to have more Covid-19 [cases] than the entire country of New Zealand due to this laxity, " Scaramucci said, according to the New Zealand Herald.
Scaramucci's comments come as a coronavirus outbreak is sweeping the White House. The president and First Lady Melania Trump and other inner circle members have fallen ill, including Trump's counselor Hope Hicks, former adviser Kellyanne Conway, and campaign manager Bill Stepien.
"It's sad for me because a lot of these people are my friends. Hope [Hicks] is my friend, I wish her well, and I want her to get better. But it's also sad for the country because we put the country now in this dilemma where we've politicized the
"So I'm hoping this is a wake-up call for the president and staff, and they will start to speak the way Anthony Fauci speaks about it or the way Dr. [Sanjay] Gupta speaks about it in terms of the seriousness of it," Scaramucci added.
So far, at least eight people in the White House inner circle have tested positive for the virus. Added to this figure is secret service members, domestic staff, and members of the White House press corps. Here is a running list of members who tested positive for the virus this year.
Currently, New Zealand has 41 active cases. It is one of the few success stories in the fight against the coronavirus.
To date, has recorded almost 1,500 cases since the start of the pandemic, according to the government's official website
Trump was admitted to Walter Reed Hospital on Friday for "further monitoring" and treatment, according to a memo by the White House physician.
New Zealand's prime minister Jacinda Ardern wished the president and Melania a "speedy recovery" on Saturday, according to the Guardian.
"We've seen now several world leaders who are being affected by COVID-19 and I know that I stand with others in wishing all the best because this is obviously a virus that has globally had a devastating impact," she said, according to the publication.
Scaramucci, nicknamed "The Mooch" by the media, was given the role White House Communications Director in 2017 but was dismissed 10 days after the announcement.
He has been critical of Trump ever since and released a book called "Trump, the Blue-Collar President" in October 2018.
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