Pastor Who Attended Rose Garden Event Tests Positive for CCP Virus

Pastor Who Attended Rose Garden Event Tests Positive for CCP Virus
Pastor Greg Laurie speaking at an event in Anaheim, Cali., on July 6, 2001. (David McNew/Getty Images)
Tom Ozimek
10/6/2020
Updated:
10/6/2020
California pastor Greg Laurie, who on Sept. 26 attended the White House Rose Garden ceremony at which President Donald Trump formally announced the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, has tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.
Laurie, who made the announcement in an Oct. 5 post on Facebook, said he tested positive on Oct. 2, the same day Trump announced he and the first lady had contracted the virus.

“I tested positive for COVID-19 last Friday. I have been in quarantine since then. I am happy to report that all members of my family have tested negative for COVID. My symptoms have been mild so far, and I expect to make a full recovery,” Laurie wrote.

“If our president and first lady can get COVID-19, clearly anyone can,” Laurie added.

Trump, meanwhile, on Monday evening was discharged from Walter Reed hospital and returned to the White House. In an announcement earlier in the day that was posted to Twitter, the president said he is “feeling really good,” calling on Americans to not “be afraid of COVID,” and adding, “don’t let it dominate your life.”

In a video filmed at the White House and posted on Twitter, Trump suggested he may have developed immunity in the course of his bout with the CCP virus, saying, “Now I’m better and maybe I’m immune.”

President Donald Trump takes off his mask as he arrives at the White House upon his return from Walter Reed Medical Center, where he underwent treatment for the CCP virus, in Washington on Oct. 5, 2020. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump takes off his mask as he arrives at the White House upon his return from Walter Reed Medical Center, where he underwent treatment for the CCP virus, in Washington on Oct. 5, 2020. (Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images)

Several other close associates of Trump, who attended the Sept. 26 Rose Garden event have tested positive, including former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, three GOP senators, and former White House adviser Kellyanne Conway.

With the Rose Garden event regarded as a potential infection nexus, the White House said it is doing contact tracing, and “appropriate notifications and recommendations are being made.”

Meanwhile, state and county officials in New Jersey are contacting more than 200 people who were at Trump’s Bedminster golf club for Thursday’s campaign fundraiser and have asked them to monitor for possible COVID-19 symptoms.

Those who came into close contact with the president or his staff have been asked to self-quarantine for 14 days. Officials recommend waiting around 5 to 7 days from a potential exposure to get a COVID-19 test in order to prevent false positives.

Tom Ozimek is a senior reporter for The Epoch Times. He has a broad background in journalism, deposit insurance, marketing and communications, and adult education.
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