Several dozen agents and officers at the U.S. Secret Service are home for 14-day coronavirus-related quarantines after working at President Donald Trump's recent rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The Washington Post reported that dozens of staff members at the agency who were in Tulsa were instructed to quarantine for two weeks after returning home from the trip. Other agents who live in the Tulsa area, along with local officials, have been tested for the virus after attending the June 20 event.
The news comes after eight people who helped plan the event, including some members of the Secret Service, tested positive for COVID-19.
Tulsa County has seen an uptick in case numbers this month, according to the local health department. On Tuesday, 259 new cases were reported — up from 91 the day before and 43 on Sunday. On Saturday, the day of the rally, 143 new cases were reported.
The Secret Service would not confirm how many of its employees have tested positive for the virus or how many are currently quarantined, but sources told the Post that dozens are now at home after the Tulsa trip.
"The U.S. Secret Service remains prepared and staffed to fulfill all of the various duties as required," agency spokesperson Catherine Milhoan said.
"To protect the privacy of our employees' health information and for operational security, the Secret Service is not releasing how many of its employees have tested positive for COVID-19, nor how many of its employees were, or currently are, quarantined."
A short time before the rally started, it was revealed that six people involved in the campaign, including two members of the Secret Service, were infected with the virus. On Sunday, two additional cases within the team were reported.
CNN reported that Secret Service officers and agents will now be tested for the virus 24 to 48 hours before official travel.
"We want to make sure that we have a healthy workforce and that we are protecting our people," an agency official told the network. "This is good common sense."