Inside the White House Event Now Under Covid Scrutiny
At least seven people who attended a White House event on Sept. 26 have since tested positive for the coronavirus. Six of them, including the first lady, sat in the first several rows of a nomination ceremony for Judge Amy Coney Barrett in the White House Rose Garden. The seventh was the president himself.
Few people at the outdoor ceremony wore masks or kept their social distance. But experts say the more risky time spent that day was at a reception inside the White House, where President Trump met with a smaller group of guests.
There, Mr. Trump mingled with Judge Barrett, her family and prominent Republicans in the Oval Office and in the Diplomatic Room. Research has shown that transmission of the virus tends to happen indoors, and gatherings where guests are maskless and in tight quarters can be a recipe for “super spreader” events.
Here are some of the scenes from inside the White House on the day of Judge Barrett’s nomination ceremony.
Attendees who have since tested positive for the coronavirus
Sen. Thom Tillis
North Carolina
Sen. Josh Hawley
Missouri
President Trump and
Melania Trump
Amy Coney Barrett
Supreme Court nominee
Maureen Scalia
Wife of late Justice
Antonin Scalia
Sen. Kelly Loeffler
Georgia
Amy Coney
Barrett
Supreme Court
nominee
Sen. Thom Tillis
North Carolina
Sen. Josh Hawley
Missouri
President Trump and
Melania Trump
Maureen Scalia
Wife of late Justice
Antonin Scalia
Sen. Kelly Loeffler
Georgia
Amy Coney
Barrett
Supreme Court
nominee
Sen. Thom Tillis
North Carolina
President Trump and
Melania Trump
Sen. Josh Hawley
Missouri
Maureen Scalia
Wife of late Justice
Antonin Scalia
Sen. Kelly Loeffler
Georgia
Sen. Thom Tillis
North Carolina
Amy Coney Barrett
Supreme Court
nominee
Sen. Josh Hawley
Missouri
President Trump
and Melania Trump
Maureen Scalia
Wife of late Justice
Antonin Scalia
Sen. Kelly Loeffler
Georgia
Doug Mills/The New York Times
Pat A. Cipollone
White House counsel
Chris Christie
Former governor
of New Jersey
Pat A. Cipollone
White House counsel
Chris Christie
Former governor
of New Jersey
Pat A. Cipollone
White House counsel
Chris Christie
Former governor
of New Jersey
Pat A. Cipollone
White House counsel
Chris Christie
Former governor
of New Jersey
Doug Mills/The New York Times
William P. Barr
Attorney general
Amy Coney Barrett
Supreme Court nominee
Alex M. Azar II
Health and Human
Services secretary
William P. Barr
Attorney general
Amy Coney Barrett
Supreme Court nominee
Alex M. Azar II
Health and Human
Services secretary
Amy Coney Barrett
Supreme Court nominee
William P. Barr
Attorney general
Alex M. Azar II
Health and Human
Services secretary
Amy Coney Barrett
Supreme Court nominee
William P. Barr
Attorney general
Alex M. Azar II
Health and Human
Services secretary
Doug Mills/The New York Times
Sen. Thom Tillis
North Carolina
Sen. Thom Tillis
North Carolina
Sen. Thom Tillis
North Carolina
Sen. Thom Tillis
North Carolina
Doug Mills/The New York Times
Amy Coney Barrett
Supreme Court nominee
Amy Coney Barrett
Supreme Court nominee
Amy Coney Barrett
Supreme Court nominee
Amy Coney Barrett
Supreme Court nominee
Doug Mills/The