White House criticised over contact tracing

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

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

Health officials in Minnesota, New Jersey and Ohio, where Donald Trump held events recently, said they had not yet been contacted. Three senators – Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis, of North Carolina – have tested positive. They all attended the ceremony at the White House Rose Garden on Sept 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 being linked to a spike in infections.

Others diagnosed include Kellyanne Conway, the White House counsellor, and Hope Hicks, a top aide.

Judd Deere, the presidential spokesman, 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 he was told of a positive test on Thursday.

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

Mr Trump met more than 200 people at a fundraising event at his golf club in New Jersey on Thursday. The previous day he attended a rally in Minnesota.

Kris Ehresmann, a director of the Minnesota health department, said those who were in direct contact with Mr Trump should quarantine and get tested. The Telegraph approached the Trump campaign for comment.