Coronavirus is running rampant in Washington, D.C., with the country’s top leaders infected — and the outbreak potentially far from over.
As of Saturday afternoon, President Trump; first lady Melania Trump; former NJ Gov. Chris Christie; Trump aides Hope Hicks and Kellyanne Conway; RNC chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, and Trump’s reelection campaign manager Bill Stepien had all tested positive for the virus which has now killed more than 200,000 Americans.
The US Senate was also reeling after three Republican senators revealed their own positive diagnoses within just 24 hours. Utah’s Mike Lee, North Carolina’s Thom Tillis and Wisconsin’s Ron Johnson have all moved into quarantine, according to statements from their offices.
All have been in close contact with each other or Trump in recent days.
Christie played an integral role in the president’s debate prep, where he reportedly stood in for Joe Biden. Christie, Stepien, Conway and Hicks all participated in preparations in the White House Map Room in the days immediately preceding the debate.
“I assume there are more,” GOP strategist and Trump campaign adviser Karl Rove told The Post. “Chris Christie joined the club in the last few hours, but I don’t know. That’s one of the things about this disease, we don’t know where it goes or how it goes.”
Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, White House adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, campaign senior adviser Jason Miller, and White House Communications Director Alyssa Farah also attended the prep sessions. No coronavirus cases among them have been reported so far. Giuliani and Miller have told The Post they have tested negative.
On Saturday, Sept. 26, just three days before the debate, many of the newly infected attended a Rose Garden ceremony for Judge Amy Coney Barrett. About 150 high-profile guests crammed tightly together in folding chairs and were mostly maskless. The president and first lady, Christie, GOP senators Lee and Tillis, and Conway were all in attendance.
Vice President Pence and Attorney General Bill Barr — who also attended the ceremony — have tested negative for the virus so far.
The outbreak might also have originated at the 2020 presidential debate in Cleveland Tuesday. Eleven people on the setup crews have tested positive, the city said in a statement Friday.
President Trump also spent time at his golf club in Bedminster, NJ, during a fundraiser on Thursday that was attended by about 100 people. The event went forward even after Hope Hicks tested positive for the virus earlier in the day. Trump also held a massive outdoor rally in Duluth, Minn., on Wednesday night. The state has reported a recent spike of new cases.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell moved Saturday to try and stem the tide of new infections, canceling all Senate floor votes for the next two weeks. The leader, however, said that confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett would proceed as scheduled, with Judiciary Committee hearings — even if by video — set for Oct. 12.
Until his own diagnosis, President Trump had routinely flouted mask-wearing and even mocked his Democratic opponent Joe Biden for doing so during their debate on Tuesday. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany has insisted, however, that the president has “no problem” wearing masks.
Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien tests positive
President Donald Trump's campaign manager, Bill Stepien, has tested positive for the coronavirus, making him the latest in a spate of close contacts who have contracted Covid-19.
In an email to his staff obtained by NBC News, Stepien announced his diagnosis and said he feels "fine" and plans to return to the office as soon as possible.
"Just as he always has, President Trump trusts that we will work as hard as we can to share his record of success to the American people," Stepien wrote in the email. "I will still be doing that, and I know you will too during the homestretch."
McEnany slams 'ridiculous' NYT suggestion Trump may not remain on ballot
The number of people from President Donald Trump's orbit who have tested positive for the coronavirus is growing, with at least eight confirmed cases tied to an event in the Rose Garden last weekend.
On Sept. 26, Trump officially announced federal appeals Judge Amy Coney Barrett as his nominee to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the next Supreme Court justice at an outdoor ceremony attended by more than 150 people, many of whom did not wear masks or practice social distancing.
In addition to the president and the first lady, at least five other people who were at the ceremony have been confirmed to have Covid-19: former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie , former top Trump aide Kellyanne Conway, Republican Sens. Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Mike Lee of Utah , University of Notre Dame President John Jenkins and a White House journalist.
Christie is the latest to confirm that he was infected. On Saturday, he checked himself into Morristown Medical Center in New Jersey as a "precautionary measure," he said in a statement.
Christie, Conway, and Tillis also said they are experiencing mild symptoms.
On Friday, Conway confirmed that she tested positive for coronavirus. Conway's daughter, Claudia Conway, posted a video on TikTok announcing her mother's diagnosis even before her mother issued a statement. Claudia Conway said she is "furious" that her mother, who brushed off wearing a mask during the pandemic, exposed the family to Covid-19.
Kellyanne Conway said in a statement that she has a "light cough" and is "feeling fine."
"I have begun a quarantine process in consultation with physicians," she said in a statement Friday night. "As always, my heart is with everyone affected by this global pandemic."
#InGodWeTrust
The Donald is tested positive!!🤣
Donald Trump’s doctor gave an upbeat account of the president’s fight against Covid-19 on Saturday that was almost immediately contradicted by the disclosure from a person familiar with the matter that Trump’s vital signs were very concerning over the past 24 hours. “I am feeling well!” Trump tweeted.
New U.S. cases rose 0.8% to 54,215 on Friday, higher than the average of the previous seven days. New York’s recent surge of cases reached the highest number in more than four months. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin became the third U.S. senator to test positive in a day, as his state hit a record number of new cases.
France also reported a record number of infections. Italy had the highest number of cases since April, when the nation was Europe’s early, deadly center of the outbreak
Key Developments:
- Global Tracker: Cases pass 34.7 million; deaths exceed 1.03 million
- President Trump’s Covid-19 diagnosis changes everything
- ‘Top of His Game’: the day Covid-19 came to Trump’s White House
- Trump hospital stay renews focus on transfer of power provisions
- Markets were already braced for chaos -- and then came the diagnosis
- Covid survival guide: pivot
Wisconsin Breaks Record on Day Trump Planned to Visit (4:44 p.m. NY)Wisconsin hit a new record of virus cases -- the day that one of its U.S. senators, Ron Johnson, said he tested positive. It’s also the same day President Trump, now in the hospital with the virus, was supposed to hold rallies in the state. His razor-thin victory there four years ago helped push him to the White House.
As the virus rages through the Midwest, Wisconsin reported another 2,892 cases -- the eighth time in 10 days in which they exceeded 2,000. Daily cases rarely reached even 1,000 a month ago. Positive tests by person were at a high 17.5%.
Among the worst hit parts of the state include Green Bay -- one of the two places Trump was supposed to visit on Saturday in an effort to win the state again despite trailing in the polls. He moved another appearance from La Crosse, where local leaders asked him not to come because of the virus, to Janesville farther south.
Total cases are now 130,798. Another 19 people died, for a total of 1,372.
California Cases Slow (3:33 p.m. NY)
California reported 2,159 new coronavirus cases, a 0.3% increase from the previous day and below the average 3,236 daily increase of the previous 14 days. Total cases are now 819,436, according to the health department’s website. Deaths rose by 88, above the 14-day average of 83, to 16,074.
New York Reports Most Cases Since Lockdown (2:58 p.m. NY)
New York’s recent surge of cases rose to the highest number in more than four months and before the state began to reopen in early June. The 1,731 new cases marked a 0.4% increase compared with an average 0.2% daily increase in the previous seven days. Six more poeple died, Govenor Andrew Cuomo said in a tweet.
France Hits Record Number of Cases (2:47 p.m. NY)
France reported a record increase in new cases, rising to 16,972 on Saturday from 12,148 on Friday. The seven-day average of new infections, which smooths out reporting spikes, stood at about 11,300, growing for the first day in six.
Trump’s Vitals Called Concerning Despite Doctor’s Upbeat Report (1:48 p.m. NY)
Donald Trump’s doctor gave an upbeat account of the president’s fight against Covid-19 on Saturday that was almost immediately contradicted by the disclosure from a person familiar with the matter that Trump’s vital signs were very concerning over the past 24 hours.
Ireland Cases Highest Since Late-April (1:26 p.m. NY)
Ireland reported the most new cases since April 26, and the most deaths since May 7. There were 613 newly confirmed cases, with 10 deaths, the health ministry said, although most of the deaths occurred before September.
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie Tests Positive (12:48 p.m. NY)
Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said he has tested positive for Covid-19 and will be receiving medical attention, he disclosed on Twitter Saturday.
Patriots-Chiefs Game Rescheduled After Virus Cases on Both Sides (12:27 p.m. NY)
The Patriots will not play the Chiefs as scheduled Sunday afternoon in Kansas City after positive Covid-19 tests from both teams, the National Football League said in a statement.
Iran Imposes Widespread Closures (12:25 p.m. NY)
Authorities announced a week-long closure of a range of businesses and public places in Tehran Province amid a resurgence in new cases and a rising death toll, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported. The order of closure, which took effect on Saturday evening, includes universities, schools, public libraries, mosques and Shia seminaries as well as movies theaters, museums, cafes, gyms and indoor pools, among other spaces.
Germany to Give Employees the Right to Work From Home, Bild Says (12:15 p.m. NY)
Germany plans to give employees the legal right to work from home, Bild am Sonntag reported, citing Labor Minister Hubertus Heil.
Italy Hits Most Cases Since April (11:34 a.m. NY)
Italy’s cases kept surging, with new infections reaching 2,844 on Saturday, the highest since late April. The increase compares with 2,499 Friday and a previous seven-day average of 1,954.
Workers will be able to request remote working at least 24 days a year, Heil told Bild. Employers can refuse if there are legitimate organizational reasons. The law, which is still in draft form, is aimed at helping parents better balance career and family and was spurred by the coronavirus pandemic.
Italy Hits Most Cases Since April (11:34 a.m. NY)
Italy’s cases kept surging, with new infections reaching 2,844 on Saturday, the highest since late April. The increase compares with 2,499 Friday and a previous seven-day average of 1,954.
That is well below the March 21 peak of 6,557 new infections, and Italy’s situation is better than other European countries. But the government is considering making the use of masks outdoor compulsory, already the case in some regions.
The increase tracks a rise in daily tests, at near record levels of 120,000 for a third day. Intensive care units are not under pressure yet. Patients in ICUs rose by 3 to 297, well below the peak of more than 4,000 in early April.
If numbers continue to rise, the government would seek to avoid a national lockdown, newspaper Il Messaggero reported Saturday. Instead, the first steps would be to order local lockdowns where hospitals are under pressure, closing restaurants and bars at 10 p.m. and closing cinemas and theaters, the newspaper said.
Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson Tests Positive (10:20 a.m. NY)
Wisconsin GOP Senator Ron Johnson has tested positive for Covid-19 and will remain isolated, the third Republican Senator to test positive in the past day, following Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Mike Lee of Utah.
Johnson “feels healthy” and is not experiencing symptoms, according to a statement from his office. He returned to Washington on Tuesday, and “shortly after” was exposed to an individual who has since tested positive.
India’s Death Toll Passes 100,000 (12:01 p.m. HK)
India’s death toll passed the 100,000 mark Saturday, a milestone reached only by the U.S. and Brazil. The country has 6.47 million positive cases and may overtake the U.S. in the coming weeks to become the world’s worst-affected country.
JUST IN: Kayleigh McEnany speaks to reporters after Trump Coronavirus diagnosis
