White House and Trump campaign under fire over contact tracing

Several Covid-19 cases linked to Rose Gardenceremony announcing Amey Coney Barrett's nomination to the Supreme Court

Credit: Olivier Douiery/AFP

The White House and the Trump campaign has yet to offer contact tracing to hundreds of people who may have been exposed to the virus in the days before President Trump tested positive, according to reports.

 According to the Washington Post, the Centers for Disease Control and Protection has yet to be asked to mobilise the contact tracing team it has on standby.

Health officials in Minnesota, New Jersey and Ohio, where Mr Trump held events recently, say they have also yet to be contacted by the White House.

Already three senators — Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis — have all tested positive for the virus. They all attended the ceremony at the White House Rose Garden on September 26 where Mr Trump announced the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court.

In all 150 people, many not wearing masks,  attended the event which is now being linked to a spike in infections among senior figures in Washington.

Others diagnosed with coronavirus include top aide, Hope Hicks, and White House counsellor, Kellyanne Conway.

Presidential spokesman, Judd Deere,  insisted that there was a "robust" contact tracing programme at the White House.

Exactly when Mr Trump was diagnosed with Covid-19 is not completely clear. It is thought that the US president was told of a positive test on Thursday.

The Biden campaign has already expressed annoyance that it was not contacted by the Trump team as soon as the diagnosis was known, given the two men had faced each other in the first presidential debate on Tuesday night.

Former New Jersey governor, Chris Christie, who helped Mr Trump prepare for Tuesday’s debate has tested positive for the virus and been admitted to hospital as a precaution.

Mr Trump also met more than 200 people at a fundraising event held at his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey on Thursday. 

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The previous day Mr Trump attended an election rally in Duluth, Minnesota. Many of those present were not wearing masks.

Kris Ehresmann, director of the Minnesota Department of Health’s Infectious Disease Epidemiology, Prevention, and Control Division, said those who were in direct contact with Mr Trump should quarantine and get tested.

“There is a potential risk that transmission occurred at the Duluth rally and other events associated with President Trump’s visit," he warned.

Alyssa Farah, the White House communications director, said: "We’re giving updates as we have been about numbers within the West Wing and initiating contact tracing."

Ms Farah confirmed that the White House did not ask the CDC to initiate contact tracing after the Rose Garden event, but added: "We have an in-house, White House epidemiologist, part of the White House medical unit, and then we’re following CDC guidelines."

The Telegraph has approached the Trump campaign for comment.