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At least seven people who attended an event at the White House last week tested positive for coronavirus, after attendees were seen hugging, punching fists and without masks.
The guests sat in tight chairs that didn’t appear to be six feet apart, and some of those who tested positive since then sat together.
Donald Trump and his wife Melania announced Friday that they had contracted the virus and the president has now been transferred to a military hospital to treatment.
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The couple had been seen without masks at the Rose Garden event last Saturday, where Trump announced that he would nominate Amy Coney Barrett as his choice for the Supreme Court.
Several other attendees at the event – former Presidential Advisor Kellyanne Conway, Senator Mike Lee, Senator Thom Tillis, University of Notre Dame President John Jenkins, and an unidentified journalist) also tested positive.
Hundreds of people were there, and some were seen hugging, after the president announced his nomination.
Subsequently, several senior associates and close advisers also attended a small celebration in the Diplomatic Room of the White House.
Guests were sitting together and few wore face masks
Now it is speculated that the ceremony could become a “superpreader” event, and it is feared that more attendees and close contacts could test positive in the coming days.
The incubation period for the virus is one to 14 days, although on average people will begin to develop symptoms after five to six days.
On Friday, Ms. Conway announced that she had the virus and had “mild symptoms.”
Kellyanne Conway with Attorney General William Barr
At the event, she was photographed sitting behind the first lady and facing Mr. Jenkins, who tested positive.
The footage also shows her standing near Attorney General William Barr, with neither of them wearing masks and leaning in to whisper something to him.
Later, he shakes hands with another guest.
A video has also emerged of Mr. Lee enthusiastically hugging other attendees and holding his mask in hand.
Jenkins, in an email to others at the University of Notre Dame announcing his positive result, admitted that he had not worn a mask and shook hands with several people at the Rose Garden.
He added that they had given him a test before attending and “they told him it was safe to take off our masks.”
Meanwhile, Alex Azar, the country’s top health official, was seen at the event punching his fist without a mask, according to CNN.
