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Coronavirus Still Spreading From China to White House

By Stefan J. Bos, Special Correspondent Worthy News

(Worthy News) – Nations on Monday struggled to balance public and economic health amid mounting pressure to reopen economies despite an uptick in coronavirus cases ranging from China to even the White House.

In China, 17 new virus cases were officially reported on Monday, its second consecutive double-digit increase. Five of the new cases were reported in Wuhan, where the new coronavirus disease COVID-19 first emerged. Media said there was growing concern over a cluster of cases in north-eastern Shulan city in Jilin province.

In Europe, Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled a cautious easing of lockdown conditions in England. France and Spain were set for an easing of tight restrictions from Monday. The decisions came despite official data from Germany, showing the infection rate rising, days after a lockdown was eased.

Across the Atlantic, in the United States, some of the president’s top economic advisers emphasized the importance of getting more businesses and offices open, despite infections that even struck the White House. In Texas, hair salon owner Shelley Luther became the rallying cry for entrepreneurs eager to start working again after weeks of lockdowns aimed at halting the pandemic. Luther reopened after being freed from the Dallas County jail last week. She had been sentenced after refusing to apologize for keeping her salon open in defiance of the governor’s restrictions.

Amid the turmoil, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was self-isolating Sunday after an aide tested positive for the coronavirus last week, but he planned to return to the White House on Monday. Other top officials in quarantine because of exposure are Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Stephen Hahn.

Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday. That made her the second person who works at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week. A military service member who acts as a valet to the president tested positive on Thursday, the first known instance where a person close to the president at the White House had tested positive.

Despite Miller being identified as having tested positive, U.S. President Donald Trump said he was “not worried” about the virus spreading in the White House. Worldwide nearly 284,000 people have died of coronavirus-related causes, and more than 4 million people have been infected, officials say.