THE White House has emerged as a superspreader of Covid-19 after a seventh major figure tested positive following a garden party.
Kellyanne Conway confirmed that she had contracted the virus on Friday following the revelation that six others, most notably President Donald Trump and the First Lady Melania, had also been struck down by it.
A group had met in the Rose Garden as the president welcomed his nominee for the Supreme Court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
The September 26 gathering had been a relaxed affair in terms of precautions, with rows of seats of guests with no social distancing. Others could been seen mingling and handshakes were visible.
Conway, who had been an adviser to the president until earlier this year and was a regular spokesperson for the White House, tweeted that she had tested positive.
The 53-year-old had been sitting in the front row at the Rose Garden announcement and was seen socialising with guests and other White House officials while not wearing a mask.
“Tonight I tested positive for Covid-19. My symptoms are mild (light cough) and I’m feeling fine,” she wrote. “I have begun a quarantine process in consultation with physicians.”
Utah Senator Mike Lee had tested positive on Thursday while North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis returned the same results on Friday.
The president of the University of Notre Dame, John Jenkins, was also diagnosed with the virus.
The White House Correspondents’ Association said that an unnamed reporter at the event had also tested positive with symptoms.
Judge Barrett tested negative on the Friday, despite meeting Lee on the Tuesday. Vice-president, Mike Pence, was also cleared of the virus.
The First Lady was seated next to two of Barrett’s seven children who had flown to Washington DC for the event.
Republicans on Capitol Hill vowed to press forward with the Supreme Court nomination of Barrett despite her coming into contact with the president.
The top Senate Democrat, Chuck Schumer, has demanded that the White House ‘‘immediately conduct a contact-tracing regime’’ that includes Barrett and anyone she may have come in contact with.
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