Coronavirus Arrives in DC

Trump says he's not concerned 'at all' about virus getting closer to White House
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Mar 8, 2020 5:30 AM CDT
Coronavirus Arrives in DC
President 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)

A man in his 50s tested positive Saturday for coronavirus—the first presumptively confirmed case in the nation’s capital—and another person who traveled through the city tested positive in Maryland, the AP reports. District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser said the man in the initial case started exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 in late February. He was admitted to a Washington hospital on Thursday and appeared to have no history of international travel and no close contacts to any other confirmed cases across the US. “With his test yielding presumptive positive, DC Health has started its investigation in keeping with CDC guidelines,” Bowser said. The investigation includes tracing the man’s movements, though the mayor declined to say where in DC the man lived. Virginia recorded its first case Saturday when a US Marine stationed at Fort Belvoir was found to have the virus.

President Trump said he wasn't concerned “at all” about the coronavirus getting closer to the White House after officials said an attendee of the recent Conservative Political Action Conference in the capital where Trump himself had spoken also tested positive for the virus. “No, I’m not concerned at all. No, I’m not. We’ve done a great job," Trump said. The second man, who passed through Washington, is also in his 50s and lives in Nigeria, but had been staying with family members in Washington. He tested positive in Maryland, where he remains hospitalized. Officials had no plans to cancel events, including the annual Cherry Blossom Festival, which starts on March 20 and draws thousands. "We recognize that it is fluid and every day we will monitor the situation," Bowser said. When asked whether his campaign rallies would continue, Trump replied, “We’ll have tremendous rallies.”

(More coronavirus stories.)

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