Who Has It Now? Tracking Covid-19 As It Spreads Through Trumpworld
The Covid cluster in the White House and beyond
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It was just a matter of time before President Trump caught the novel coronavirus. For months, the White House and the Trump campaign have refused to take strict measures to protect people against Covid-19, often foregoing social distancing and the use of masks while holding large gatherings such as campaign rallies. People who’ve spent time near the president, such as his personal valet and Vice President Pence’s press secretary, were also infected in the past.
In early October, Trump’s negligence finally caught up with him: He announced Oct. 2 that he had tested positive for the virus. News of Trump’s positive test came just hours after revelations that aide Hope Hicks, who regularly spends time in close quarters with the president, was sickened with the virus. Since then, dozens of people in the White House or who have had recent contact with the president’s team have tested positive for the virus.
Ahead, a running list of the people identified as part of the cluster of Covid-19 cases around the president. This list will be updated as new cases are reported.
This story was last updated on Friday, October 9 at 11:30 a.m.
President Trump
The White House said the president first tested positive for the virus on the evening of Thursday, Oct. 1; earlier that day he was in close contact with supporters, unmasked, at a fundraiser in Bedminster, New Jersey. By the evening of Friday Oct. 2, he was in the hospital, where he was treated with medications proven to work only in later-stage, severe Covid-19 infections. On Monday Oct. 5, Trump left the hospital and returned to the White House, where he continued treatment with an experimental antiviral and steroids. The White House has repeatedly refused to disclose when Trump last tested negative for the virus, as he was required to do by the rules of the Sept. 29 presidential debate.
First Lady Melania Trump
FLOTUS also tested positive on the night of Thursday Oct. 1, the White House said. It is unclear if she developed symptoms.
