Chris Christie on September 26th at White House Rose Garden

Dear Commons Community

The latest news indicates that President Trump might have contracted coronavirus at the White House Rose Garden on September 26th when Amy Coney  Barrett, the  nominee for the Supreme Court, was introduced.  Since then, at least eleven members of Trump’s inner circle tested positive this week.  The most recent being former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie.

And for all of those confirmed cases, countless more may have been infected without willingly putting themselves at risk: people working the events, such as waiters, cleaners, support staff, Secret Service agents, military personnel and others who had little choice in attending. Those people run the risk of affecting their families and communities without the guarantee of medical care that the president, his family and high-ranking lawmakers can expect.

Below are the positive cases among prominent Republicans that are known so far. It can take several days after exposure for a person to test positive for the virus, and some do not show symptoms for up to two weeks. 

Tony

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President Donald Trump

Trump is currently receiving treatment for COVID-19 symptoms at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland. He tweeted an update on his condition Saturday: “Going welI, I think! Thank you to all. LOVE!!!”

White House physician Sean Conley said late Friday that Trump has not required supplemental oxygen and is doing well after receiving his first dose of Remdesivir, a drug approved to treat COVID-19 symptoms.

It remains unclear precisely how the president picked up the virus, but he seldom wore a mask before his diagnosis.

He traveled to several cities before and after the Rose Garden event, participated in several events including three rallies and was reportedly in enclosed rooms with other maskless individuals as he prepared for his debate with Democratic presidential contender Joe Biden. (Biden and his wife have tested negative.)

First Lady Melania Trump 

The first lady attended Barrett’s nomination in the Rose Garden, where she was seen sitting near the judge’s family. (Barrett herself had the virus earlier in the year and recovered.)

“Thank you for the love you are sending our way,” she said in a tweet. “I have mild symptoms but overall feeling good. I am looking forward to a speedy recovery.”

White House Adviser Hope Hicks 

Hicks traveled with the president several times in the days leading up to her diagnosis, including a Wednesday trip aboard Air Force One to Minnesota, where Trump held a campaign rally. Hicks began exhibiting symptoms before the rally, The New York Times reported, and she was then isolated on the return flight and exited out the back of the plane.

She did not attend the Rose Garden event.

Former White House Adviser Kellyanne Conway

Conway reportedly spent hours cooped up with Trump and other staffers in preparation for the debate, without masks. She also attended Barrett’s nomination event. She revealed her diagnosis late Friday.

Trump Campaign Manager Bill Stepien

Stepien was diagnosed Friday and is experiencing “mild flu-like symptoms,” according to Politico.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah)

Lee attended the Rose Garden event, where he was seen talking to and hugging other attendees without a mask.

He announced his positive diagnosis Friday. Lee said he began feeling symptoms Thursday morning, around the time he attended a 90-minute Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, where he could have infected colleagues. He was seen without a mask at least part of the time.

The Rev. John Jenkins 

Jenkins, president of the University of Notre Dame ― where Barrett attended law school ― was seen at her Supreme Court nomination event without a mask. He tested positive Friday.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) 

Tillis attended the Rose Garden event and was seen in a mask during the main announcement, although prominent Republicans were seen indoors with Barrett afterward. He tested positive Friday.

GOP Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel

McDaniel received her diagnosis Wednesday and announced Friday that she tested positive. She last saw the president in person on Sept. 25, according to The New York Times.

The chairwoman was tested after “a member of her family” tested positive, a spokesman said in a statement, noting that McDaniel “has been at her home in Michigan” since Saturday, Sept. 26.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.)

Johnson announced his diagnosis Saturday. He quarantined for two weeks after coming into contact with someone earlier in the month who had the virus.

He only returned to Washington on Tuesday, when he was “exposed to an individual who has since tested positive,” his office said. The individual was not named.

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie

Christie, a frequent contact of the president’s, announced Saturday that he “just received word” of his positive diagnosis.

White House Aide Nicholas Luna 

Luna, one of the president’s “body men,” has tested positive, according to multiple reports.