An attendee of a conservative conference where President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence spoke last week has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the event’s organizer.
The organizer, the American Conservative Union, which hosts the annual Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, D.C., said the attendee was exposed to the virus before the four-day event and tested positive for it on Saturday.
“This attendee had no interaction with the president or the vice president and never attended the events in the main hall,” the group said in a statement. “The Trump administration is aware of the situation, and we will continue regular communication with all appropriate government officials.”
The attendee has been quarantined in New Jersey, the statement said.
Trump said on Saturday that he was not worried that the infections seemed to be getting closer to the White House.
“No, I’m not concerned at all, no,” he told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where he was spending the weekend.
He said he had no plans to curtail his campaign rallies even though other large gatherings of people were being canceled across the country.
“We’re going to have tremendous rallies,” he said.
Praising health officials for a “fantastic job,” he added, “We’ve had tremendous cooperation with other countries and all over the world and we’ve made it very, very tough, very strong, stringent borders.”
Stephanie Grisham, the White House press secretary, said in a statement that there was “no indication that either President Trump or Vice President Pence met with or were in close proximity to the attendee.”
“The president’s physician and United States Secret Service have been working closely with White House staff and various agencies to ensure every precaution is taken to keep the first family and the entire White House complex safe and healthy,” Ms. Grisham said.
Source: The New York Times
