After the Gridiron Club dinner over the weekend, an annual event where members of the press engage with prominent Washington officials, some 37 attendees were positive – including two members of Biden’s cabinet. Attendees who turned out to be positive include: Minister of Commerce Gina Raimondo. Attorney General Merrick Garland. Kamala Harris Vice President of Communications Jamal Simmons. First Lady Jill Biden’s Press Secretary Michael LaRosa. Democrat Joaquin Castro, Texas. California Republican Adam Schiff. Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. and the President’s sister, Valerie Biden Owens. Simmons was in close contact with the vice president, the White House said in a statement. Close contact is defined by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. up to 6 feet for a total of 15 minutes over a 24 hour period. The President and Vice President continued to be negative about Covid-19 and have both received the second boost of Covid-19 vaccine in recent days.
Testing Biden’s bubble
The 79-year-old president is at increased risk for a more serious case of Covid-19 due to his age, although the CDC says older adults who are aware of vaccines and boosters significantly reduce the risk of developing hospitalization and death. Biden’s bubble, the White House says, goes beyond the CDC’s guidelines to isolate him from possible infection – testing people close to him and applying physical distance whenever possible. And yet, as the events of this week unfold, the limits of the White House bubble have been tested – with Covid currently influencing at least four people in the President’s succession to varying degrees. Officials and visitors are not required to wear masks or social distances at major White House events since the CDC updated its new measurements to guide Covid-19 restrictions, such as the use of a mask in late February. Covid cases in Washington have dropped since their peak in early January, when the country was facing a wave of Omicron-type cases. The White House says only those who are “in close contact” with Biden are checked in just before meeting or attending events with him, and that not everyone who attended Wednesday’s event at the Post Office was tested. He also says that additional test protocols for Biden will depend on his doctors. Pelosi, along with other members of Congress in the White House on Wednesday, were negative before the signing ceremony. She and those present at the dinner, which were found to be positive, are not considered close contacts of the President. Harris, who is considered close to someone who tested positive this week, did not need to be quarantined because of Simmons’ positive test, the White House said, adding that she would follow the CDC’s instructions for close contact. But on Thursday, as she presided over the affirmative vote for incoming Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the vice president was seen unmasked in the Senate. Harris could sometimes be seen raising her hand, as if asking a senator not to come too close, but there were times when people, masked and uncovered, approached her. Asked why Harris was not wearing a mask in the Senate during the vote, a White House official said the vice president had consulted a White House doctor, “practiced social distance” and had “limited and brief interactions from her chair. “ The CDC recommends that people exposed to Covid who are aware of vaccinations be tested at least five days after close contact and wear masks around other people for 10 days after contact. The guidelines do not say that a person can be without masks around others if he applies social distance. Asked earlier if Harris had violated the protocol by staying uncovered inside the room, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said he had not done “further analysis” and noted that the vice president was sitting on a level floor just outside the Senate floor. He later confirmed that Harris would follow CDC protocols at other events, such as the White House’s Jackson confirmation celebrations. Psaki said Wednesday that the administration believes it has taken the necessary steps to continue its “return to work” policy. On Friday, the White House will hold an outdoor party to confirm Jackson. The reception has already coincided with the announcement of Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s candidacy at the White House Rose Garden in late September 2020, which turned out to be a possible Covid-19 overdose event and preceded the hospitalization of then-President Donald Trump. about Covid. less than a week. The Biden White House noted that, unlike Barrett’s time in office, Americans now have widespread access to Covid-19 vaccines. “At that time, vaccines were not available. People were not vaccinated. It definitely puts us in a different place,” Psaki said on Thursday, stressing that Friday’s event will be open. This story has been updated with additional references. CNN’s Kate Bennett, Jasmine Wright, MJ Lee, Nikki Carvajal and Sam Fossum contributed to this report.
