COVID-19 Virus Sweeps the White House... Epicenter at Supreme Court Nomination Ceremony?

On the 26th of last month (local time), a nomination event for Amy Coney Barrett (left on the podium), a federal Supreme Court nominee, was held in the Rose Garden of the White House in the United States, attended by President Donald Trump (right on the podium). Among the attendees at the time, President Trump and his wife Melania, Senator Thom Tillis, Senator Mike Lee, and John Jenkins, president of Notre Dame University, Barrett's alma mater, recently tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Chunhee Lee] Following the diagnosis of COVID-19 in U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife, former White House Senior Advisor Kellyanne Conway has also tested positive for the novel coronavirus, with the nomination ceremony for Amy Coney Barrett as a federal Supreme Court justice held in the White House Rose Garden on the 26th of last month being identified as a potential source of the virus spread.

Local media including ABC reported on the 2nd (local time) that Conway, once considered a close aide to President Trump, tested positive for COVID-19. Conway stated on Twitter, "I have mild symptoms (a slight cough) and I am okay. After consulting with medical staff, I have entered isolation." At the time of Barrett's nomination ceremony, Conway was seated in the second row from the front and mingled with White House officials without wearing a mask.

On the same day, U.S. Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina also announced that he tested positive for COVID-19. Senator Tillis explained, "Fortunately, I have no symptoms," and added, "I will self-isolate at home for 10 days and notify those who had close contact with me about the infection."

Among the attendees at the event were President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump, former Senior Advisor Conway, Senator Tillis, Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah, and John Jenkins, president of Notre Dame University, the alma mater of nominee Barrett, all of whom have recently tested positive for COVID-19. Additionally, according to the White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA), one reporter who covered the nomination ceremony also tested positive, bringing the total number of confirmed cases related to the event to seven.

The British newspaper The Guardian pointed out that as the number of confirmed cases among attendees increased, speculation is spreading that the event was the source of President Trump's infection and a super-spreader event. In fact, photos from the nomination ceremony show that a significant number of attendees were not wearing masks.

The Hill, a congressional news outlet, forecasted that with Senators Tillis and Lee, both members of the Judiciary Committee, infected with COVID-19, the Republican Party's planned schedule for Barrett's confirmation could face disruptions.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.