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President Trump’s name was on a list of names of people who tested negative for the coronavirus before last Tuesday’s presidential debate, the Cleveland Clinic said Monday, noting that he should have tested positive within 72 hours. to the debate.
But the clinic, which acted as a health security adviser to the Presidential Debate Commission, did not review the test results, clinic spokeswoman Angie Kiska told CNN.
Kiska told CNN that the Clinic suggested that the campaigns begin testing on September 27 because that “covered the night of the debate.” Once a person had submitted a confirmed negative test result, they did not have to submit further tests.
“The Cleveland Clinic required that everyone who entered the discussion room have a negative COVID-19 test. This was also required by the White House medical team, ”the Cleveland Clinic said in a separate statement sent to CNN.
“The campaigns had existing testing protocols, which were reviewed as part of the planning process that involved the Cleveland Clinic, the Presidential Debate Commission, and the campaigns. After that review, it was agreed that the respective medical teams of the campaigns would be (1) responsible for evaluating their respective candidates and entourages, and (2) required to certify to the Clinic on the day of the debate that all those people had been tested by their medical teams with a negative result within the time period approved before discussion. Each campaign met this requirement ”.
Both campaigns had to submit the names of those who tested negative within 72 hours before the debate ended, Kiska said.
The names submitted, including that of President and former Vice President Joe Biden, were reviewed by the Cleveland Clinic. However, the Clinic did not have to review the actual test findings or see evidence of negative results, Kiska said. She also said that the date of the test was not required.
Under the agreed protocols, the campaigns were allowed to use any diagnostic test that had been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration. That would include both rapid antigen tests and the gold standard PCR diagnostic test. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, rapid antigen tests are generally less sensitive (less accurate in generating true positive readings) than PCR tests.
