By Steve Holland
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – White House spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham, under quarantine since contact with a Brazilian official earlier this month, tested negative for coronavirus and will be back at work on Wednesday, the White House said.
Grisham, one of President Donald Trump’s top aides, had been with the president at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, on March 7 when Trump played host to a dinner with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and a Brazilian delegation.
“Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, who has been quarantined since coming in contact with Brazilian officials almost two weeks ago and working from home, has received negative COVID-19 test results and will be back to work tomorrow,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said.
Bolsonaro’s press secretary Fabio Wajngarten was the aide who tested positive and was at the Mar-a-Lago event.
He was photographed standing next to Trump, prompting the president to get a test that proved to be negative.
Trump has described the test procedure as painful, saying a doctor put a cotton swab up his nose and “turned right under the eye.”
Mick Mulvaney, who at the time was Trump’s acting chief of staff, self quarantined for 14 days after coming into contact with his niece, who had also been in contact with the Brazilian official. Mulvaney tested negative.
(This story corrects spelling in paragraph three.)
(Reporting By Steve Holland; Editing by Chris Reese and Cynthia Osterman)
