An attendee of the Conservative Political Action Conference — a major annual right-wing gathering held in Maryland this February and attended by President Trump — tested positive today for coronavirus, the host organization said as the U.S. death toll rose to 19.
The patient in question was exposed to the virus before attending the conference and was tested for the disease in a New Jersey hospital, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed as positive today.
The patient is currently in quarantine in the hospital where they were tested.
ACU assured that the patient did not make contact with President Trump or Vice President Mike Pence, and never attended the events in the main hall.
However, the organization did not provide any other details about the patient or what events at the conference they attended.
The conservative organization urged attendees who have concerns to contact ACU or the Department of Health for the State of Maryland, where the conference was held.
Important Health Notification for CPAC 2020 participants and attendees. pic.twitter.com/NtahNO8st3
— ACU (@ACUConservative) March 7, 2020
Italy, meanwhile reported its biggest daily increase in infections since the outbreak there began.
The draft of a new government decree suggests the country is on the verge of dramatically expanding its no-entry zone in what would be the most serious step taken anywhere outside of China to contain the coronavirus outbreak.
In the U.S. top officials said they could not say how many Americans had been tested so far for infection.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and public health labs combined have performed 5,861 tests, authorities said, but the total nationwide is unclear.
Washington state reported two more fatalities as cases in that state rose to 102, a day after Florida health officials reported two deaths — the first recorded outside the West Coast since the outbreak reached U.S. soil.
President Trump signed legislation Friday that provides $8.3 billion of emergency funding to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, enacting into law a measure passed swiftly and with broad bipartisan support.
Here are the latest developments:
Washington, D.C., reported its first “presumptive positive” case of coronavirus Saturday, days after Maryland officials announced several cases and declared a state of emergency.
Utah Gov. Gary R. Herbert (R) late Friday joined the growing list of governors who have declared a state of emergency in response to the outbreak.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar defended the administration’s testing procedures — which have been widely criticized after the initial CDC coronavirus test kits were faulty — saying “the only issue was just that manufacturing scale up for capacity.”
New York announced 21 new coronavirus infections on Saturday, bringing the state’s told to 76 cases. Seven of the new cases are in New York City.
Italy reported 1,247 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours.
A “critically ill” American passenger and companion were taken off the Grand Princess cruise ship where 21 people have now tested positive for coronavirus, the cruise company says.
Israel is considering requiring travelers from some parts of the United States to undergo a two-week quarantine