Roughly two weeks after President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19, health officials in New Jersey say they have not found evidence that a fundraising event held at the president’s Trump National Golf Club Bedminster led to outbreaks of the virus.
Early on Oc. 2, Trump announced that he and First Lady Melania Trump tested positive for the virus — hours after he held a fundraiser in Bedminster.
In the days that followed his announcement, at least 34 White House staffers and “other contacts” tested positive for the virus, sparking fears that the fundraiser would act as a super-spread event.
But, in a press conference on Tuesday, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said, “We’re not aware of any outbreaks, and the federal response was extremely disappointing.”
“We’ve done everything we can do,” he added.
New Jersey health officials scrambled to track down attendees of the fundraiser, and other individuals who were at the club that day, as IJR reported.
The state’s health department said it received a list of attendees of the fundraiser. However, they did not receive the phone numbers of those who attended — which they prefer to ensure their messages were received.
ABC News reported that health officials sent emails to the attendees that read, “The Somerset County Health Department and the New Jersey Department of Health understand that you attended an event… at which time you may have potentially been exposed to COVID-19.”
Additionally, health officials in the state said they had received little cooperation from White House officials to help contact trace the event.
Shortly after Trump tested positive for the virus, Murphy urged attendees to quarantine, “We urge everyone who attended yesterday’s event in Bedminster to take full precautions, including self-quarantining and getting tested.”
