At Least 8 Attendees At Amy Coney Barrett’s Rose Garden Event Test Positive For COVID-19

Following the Rose Garden ceremony last Saturday, during which President Donald Trump announced Amy Coney Barrett as his nomination for the Supreme Court, at least eight people in attendance have tested positive for COVID-19. The president announced via Twitter on Thursday that he and Melania Trump have both tested positive for the virus. In addition to the president and first lady, Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s former counselor, announced Friday that she had tested positive. Two Republican senators, Thom Tillis (R–North Carolina) and Mike Lee (R–Utah) have also tested positive. University of Notre Dame’s president, Rev. John Jenkins, has also received a positive diagnosis in addition to an unnamed journalist who was in attendance at the event. And on Saturday, Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey, also announced that he has tested positive. Barrett tested negative on Friday.

The nomination ceremony did not use social distancing and most people were seen not wearing masks. Experts have speculated  that the September 25 event could have been the source of Trump’s infection and functioned as a super-spreader event.