- Attorney General William Barr will not self-quarantine after potential exposure to the coronavirus at a White House reception where attendees were interacting without masks, according to the New York Times.
- The September 26 reception for Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett has since been identified as a possible superspreader event after several Republican lawmakers and White House associates announced they had tested positive for coronavirus.
- In addition to President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, other attendees who’ve since announced that they’ve infected with the disease are two Republican senators, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Attorney General William Barr will not self-quarantine after exposure to multiple people who have tested positive for the coronavirus, the New York Times reported.
Barr, 70, was tested for the last Friday and Saturday, with both tests delivering negative results for the coronavirus, a spokesperson told the Times.
But last Saturday, Barr was one of the attendees at a White House reception for Amy Coney Barrett, President Donald Trump’s pick to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court. Several people who attended the event later announced they tested positive for the coronavirus, sparking concerns the reception could have been a superspreader event.
Among the attendees who later announced they caught the disease were Trump, first lady Melania Trump, two Republican senators, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and former White House counselor Kellyanne Conway.
CNN reporter Rebecca Buck tweeted out a photo of the White House reception event for Barrett, showing at least 12 mask-less people interacting indoors within close proximity to one another.
—Rebecca Buck (@RebeccaBuck) October 3, 2020
Other photos taken at the event show Barr was one of the attendees who neither wore a mask nor adhered to social distancing guidelines from health officials.
A spokesperson for Barr told the New York Times that the attorney general will look out for any symptoms and continue to be tested.
The Justice Department did not immediately return Business Insider’s request for comment.
Some attendees told The Hill that guests who tested negative for the coronavirus and did not show symptoms had been given permission to interact in close proximity without masks.
Sens. Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina were among the event attendees who announced they had tested positive. Both serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is slated to hold hearings for Barrett’s nomination on October 12.
The coronavirus has spread to more than 7.3 million people in the United States, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Of that figure, more than 209,000 people have died from it.
Powered by WPeMatico
