COVID Super Spreaders
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Amy Coney Barrett Party
The September 26th White House ceremony to formally nominate Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court has become one of the most prominent super-spreader events in the country. The event, which featured hundreds of guests and zero masks, has led to over a dozen direct, publicly-identified COVID-19 infections and a growing circle of secondary infections.
It continues to wreak havoc across Washington, D.C., Cleveland, and other cities where event guests went afterwards, in part because President Trump and the White House are willfully putting people in danger.
Dossier
- September 26th: The Trump administration holds a Rose Garden ceremony to officially nominate Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. Before and after the ceremony, the White House plays host to close-contact conversations between lawmakers, dignitaries, and guests. There are no masks worn during any of these events.
- September 30th: Trump arrives too late in Cleveland for a COVID-19 test. The debate organizers decide to use the "honor system."
- Aides notice that Trump begins to feel sluggish and ill.
- October 1st: Trump's long-time aide, Hope Hicks, announces that she's tested positive for COVID-19. She flew with Trump on Tuesday and Wednesday.
- Aides notice that Trump begins to feel sluggish and ill.
- Instead of immediately isolating himself, Trump holds fundraisers indoors, in close contact with many people. The then flies to Minnesota and holds a rally for thousands of people.
- October 2nd: News breaks that Trump has tested positive for COVID-19. He finally admits to having COVID-19 after the news breaks. First Lady Melania Trump also tests positive.
- More Republicans begin to come down with the illness, including Sens. Mike Lee and Thom Tillis.
- Trump is taken to Walter Reed medical center, where he undergoes what seems to be a heavy regimen of medications and steroids for the next few days.
- October 3rd: Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson announces that he's tested positive for COVID-19. While waiting for the results of his COVID test, he attends a fundraiser instead of quarantining. Johnson had been one of the fiercest opponents of measures taken to protect people from the virus and called mask mandates "overreacting."
- October 4th: Bored and restless, Trump demands to take a short SUV tour to say hello to supporters, putting his Secret Service agents in direct danger of contracting his COVID-19.
- October 5th: Trump leaves Walter Reed early, heading back to the White House on a trip that exposes more agents and employees to COVID-19. White House staff, largely consisting of Black and Latin workers, is kept in the dark.
- News breaks that the White House is not conducting any contact tracing from the Coney Barrett event, leaving thousands of people at risk.
People who have publicly disclosed testing positive in the aftermath
- President Donald Trump
- First Lady Melania Trump
- Kellyanne Conway
- Hope Hicks
- RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel
- Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien
- Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)
- Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC)
- Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)
- Notre Dame President Rev. John Jenkins
- Chris Christie
- White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany
- Pastor Greg Laurie
- Presidential assistant Nick Luna
- Coast Guard Vice Commandant Charles Ray
- Three journalists
- 11 staffers at the Cleveland Clinic
- 123 Capitol staffers