White House ceremony for Amy Coney Barrett was a 'superspreader' event: Dr Fauci
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US President Donald Trump officially nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett on Supreme Court in a White House ceremony. The event was held in Rose Garden of the White House. The event was attended by number of White House aides and allies of Donald Trump. Attendees were not seen wearing masks in a close gathering
Dr Anthony Fauci, Director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and member of White House's coronavirus task force said on Saturday that the White House ceremony to unveil judicial nominee Amy Coney Barrett was a 'super spreader' event for coronavirus infection.
US President Donald Trump officially nominated Judge Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court in a White House ceremony. The event was held in the Rose Garden of the White House. The event was attended by number of White House aides and allies of Donald Trump. Attendees were not seen wearing masks in a close gathering.
The event was held on September 26, and Trump himself got infected with coronavirus on October 2. Number of other aides of Trump were subsequently found to be positive for the infection.
Dr Anthony Fauci said that data (of mask-wearing) spoke for itself.
"We had a super-spreader event in the White House and it was in a situation where people were crowded together and were not wearing masks. So the data speak for themselves," Dr Fauci was quoted by CBS News as saying.
By Thursday, these White House aides of Donald Trump were on the list of those infected with coronavirus.
- Counselor to the President Hope Hicks: Tested positive on October 1.
- Senior Adviser Stephen Miller: Tested positive on October 6.
- Director of Oval Office Operations Nick Luna: Tested positive on October 3.
- Assistant Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt: Tested positive on October 6.
- Assistant Press Secretary Jalen Drummond: Tested positive on October 6.
- Assistant Press Secretary Chad Gilmartin: Tested positive over the weekend of October 3/4.
- White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany: Tested positive on October 5.
- Assistant Press Secretary Harrison Fields: Tested positive, confirmed Thursday, October 8.
Donald Trump was on the receiving end as soon as he tweeted on October 2 that him and his wife Melania Trump were coronavirus positive. He has faced criticism for his handling of coronavirus pandemic in the US. He has been denounced for downplaying the outbreak in its early days.