Trump ‘not concerned’ as coronavirus cases rise in DC area
President Donald Trump shakes hands before a dinner with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro at Mar-a-Lago, Saturday, March 7, 2020, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Donald Trump says he isn’t concerned “at all” about the coronavirus getting closer to the White House after the nation’s capital reported its first case Saturday.
Maryland officials warned Saturday that a person who attended the recent Conservative Political Action Conference in the suburb of Oxon Hill had tested positive for the virus. Both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the conference. The White House said Saturday there was no indication that either had met or were in “close proximity” to the infected attendee.
Asked if he was concerned about the virus getting closer, Trump said: “No, I’m not concerned at all. No, I’m not. We’ve done a great job.”
When asked whether his thousand person campaign rallies would would continue in light of the CPAC case, the president replied, “We’ll have tremendous rallies.” Trump held his most recent campaign rally last Monday in Charlotte, North Carolina.
He waved off other questions to join a dinner for the president of Brazil, who was visiting Trump at the president’s home in south Florida.
Article continues after this advertisementA Marine at Virginia’s Fort Belvoir became the first military case of coronavirus reported inside the U.S., a Pentagon official said on background prior to the announcement. The Marine was being treated at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, located south of Washington, and had recently returned from an overseas assignment, Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said on Twitter.
Article continues after this advertisementThe District of Columbia recorded its first case on Saturday. District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser said testing at the public health lab of the D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences yielded its first presumptive positive coronavirus case.
On Friday, the political group AIPAC said two people who attended its Washington conference this past week had tested positive for coronavirus.
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