From left: a Secret Service agent and Donald Trump.Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty
Nearly 900 Secret Service agents tested positive forCOVID-19in the first year since the pandemic began, according to government records made public on Tuesday.
More than half of those agents, 477, worked in the special agent division that directly protects the president, vice president and their families,accordingto the Associated Press.
However, former PresidentDonald Trumpwas routinely criticized for ignoring pandemic safety precautions during his time in office, throwing large rallies across the country and hosting large gatherings indoors at the White House - all of which required Secret Service agents to follow his lead while protecting him.
The data released Tuesday includes the first month and a half of PresidentJoe Biden’s presidency as well.
A spokesperson for the Secret Service told PEOPLE in a statement that “maintaining the health and welfare of its dedicated workforce is a top priority” for the agency.
“The Secret Service’s essential law enforcement mission required agency employees to remain in continuous contact with the public during the pandemic,” the spokesperson added. “This included law enforcement operations at campaign events, during mass gatherings near the White House, and at multiple National Special Security Events-to include the Presidential Inauguration.”
From left: Donald Trump and a Secret Service agent.Drew Angerer/Getty
After Trump, 75, was hospitalized with COVID-19 in October, he decided to take a ride around the hospital in his presidential vehicle to see his supporters - with Secret Service agents having to join him in the car.
Some current and former agents blasted Trump’s decision, which one attending physician at the hospital described as “insanity” at the time it happened.
“He’s not even pretending to care now,” one agenttold theWashington Post, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
“That should never have happened,” an agent who worked on the Trump family’s personal detail hadtold CNN. “The frustration with how we’re treated when it comes to decisions on this illness goes back before this though. We’re not disposable.”
At least 602,164 people have died from COVID-19 in the U.S.,accordingto aNew York Timestracker, while more than 33.5 million people have contracted the illness.
As information about thecoronavirus pandemicrapidly changes, PEOPLE is committed to providing the most recent data in our coverage. Some of the information in this story may have changed after publication. For the latest on COVID-19, readers are encouraged to use online resources from theCDC,WHOandlocal public health departments.PEOPLE has partnered with GoFundMeto raise money for the COVID-19 Relief Fund, a GoFundMe.org fundraiser to support everything from frontline responders to families in need, as well as organizations helping communities. For more information or to donate, clickhere.
source: people.com
