Trump was in Charlotte a week before saying he has COVID-19. Here’s what we know.
Questions remain about President Donald Trump’s visit to Charlotte a week before the White House announced that he and the First Lady have tested positive for COVID-19.
Specifically, had Trump already been exposed to the virus during the Sept. 24 trip when he greeted an audience of mostly health care workers at a warehouse near the Charlotte Douglas International Airport? And is there a similar risk posed by his close associates who visited the area recently?
Mecklenburg County health officials have not been contacted by the White House with any concerns about the visit, Public Health Director Gibbie Harris said in a statement Friday.
But the latest research suggests that people may be most likely to spread the virus during the 48 hours before they start to experience symptoms and while symptoms are ongoing, infectious disease expert Dr. Katie Passaretti said in an Atrium Health video.
“I wouldn’t expect that there’s any increased risk for the Charlotte event last week,” Passaretti said. “…President Trump, who’s very recently showing signs of infection, was unlikely to have been contagious over a week ago when he was in Charlotte.”
The county Health Department would continue to assess the situation, Harris said.
“We have and continue to recommend that individuals attending gatherings where there is little or no social distancing and little or no face coverings in use, get tested,” she said.
Public health experts for months have broadly discouraged mass gatherings, particularly those indoors, to curb the spread of the virus.
Airport officials said Trump did not enter the airport terminal and landed at a private hanger.
The president spoke to a room full of doctors and others in the medical field inside the nearby warehouse, one of several recent trips he and his surrogates have made to North Carolina recently.
Trump, who did not wear a mask during the Charlotte visit, signed an executive order aimed at protecting those with pre-existing conditions for insurance coverage and boasted about his administration’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 208,000 Americans.
While the approximately 200 attendees — many in white coats or scrubs — were seated in chairs spaced apart during the event, some congregated for photos and conversation.
While mask-wearing compliance was better than at other Trump events, some attendees did not keep them on the entire time or did not wear one at all.
At least two attendees were pictured at the event wearing Atrium Health shirts. Atrium spokesman Dan Fogleman said no one from the hospital system attended the event in an official capacity.
And at least one attendee who joined Trump on stage said he worked at another nearby hospital, Hickory’s Catawba Valley Medical Center. Catawba Valley Medical did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Others who attended the Charlotte event had pre-existing medical conditions, including Julia Stathopoulos, who has Freeman-Sheldon Syndrome, a rare musculoskeletal disorder. She and her family were on stage and received a pen the president used.
Attempts to reach the family Friday were unsuccessful.
Trump has repeatedly predicted the pandemic would wane and continued to hold rallies that ignored social distancing and mask-wearing guidelines. During Tuesday’s presidential debate, he mocked his Democratic challenger, former Vice President Joe Biden, for his adherence to mask wearing.
COVID-19 symptoms can appear between two and 14 days after exposure, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And it’s possible to get negative test results for COVID-19 during that time.
While much is still unknown about the virus that causes COVID-19, many scientists believe people with COVID-19 are contagious for up to 10 days after symptoms begin, according to the CDC.
Ivanka Trump visits North Carolina
Trump’s daughter, Ivanka, who joined her father at Tuesday’s debate in Cleveland, traveled the next day to Gaston County, North Carolina, where she dined at Webb Custom Kitchen in Gastonia and toured Holy Angels, which provides services and job opportunities for people with disabilities.
She also participated in a business round-table discussion with Mercedes Schlapp, former Trump White House director of strategic communications, at the Barn at Sandcastle Farm events venue in Dallas, North Carolina.
She was seen not wearing a mask during the presidential debate.
Holy Angels, the non-profit charity based in Belmont, temporarily closed its community cafe and two other businesses Friday as a precaution against the potential spread of COVID-19, because of Ivanka Trump’s visit the day before. The businesses will be deep-cleaned before reopening Saturday.
Ivanka Trump tested negative on Friday, according to reporting from USA Today and other media outlets.
Aaron Samole, general manager of Webb Custom Kitchen, said the restaurant already follows all state and federal COVID-19 health and safety protocols. Measures include applying a chlorine-based sanitizer to each chair and table after every use, and cleaning and disinfecting the restaurant nightly after guests leave.
Ivanka Trump wore a mask entering Webb Custom Kitchen, and as she walked up the stairs to her table, according to Samole. She also was “a perfect example of social distancing,” he said.
The four Secret Service agents who dined at the restaurant that night, but away from Trump’s table, also practiced social distancing, he said.
Other than maintaining social distancing, Samole said, “There’s absolutely nothing you can do if someone is asymptomatic and doesn’t know it as they pass by you on a street, or anywhere else.”
In a statement Friday, Gaston County health officials said, “At this point, we have no information that someone at the event(s) was positive. Because of the public interest and potential for local impact, we have reached out to our partners at North Carolina DHHS and have a plan in place to facilitate timely response in the event we learn otherwise.”
This story was originally published October 2, 2020 at 3:56 PM.
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