Coronavirus: Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort closed for deep cleaning after three guests test positive
Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump's leisure property has been forced to shut down for deep cleaning on Monday, March 16, after three people who attended events last weekend tested positive for COVID-19. Trump hosted red-carpet worthy events including dinners, fundraiser and even a birthday party, this past week weekend and hundreds of people gathered for the celebration.
The three confirmed cases include Fabio Wajngarten, the communications secretary for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and Nestor Forster, acting Brazil Charge d'Affaires Ambassador, both who attended dinner on March 14. The third is an unnamed attendee who was at the fundraiser, held Sunday afternoon (March 15) reported
Events that transpired during the weekend resulted in several of Trump's guests-in-attending quarantining themselves, reports Daily Mail.
Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel of the Republican National Committee is being tested for the virus, after falling ill. She attended the Saturday dinner and the fundraisers on Sunday, at the beach club. Senator Lindsey Graham who was also at the club quarantined himself but tested negative for COVID-19. President Trump tested negative for the virus, as well.
Mar-a-Lago is a 20-acre property on the Atlantic Ocean in Palm Beach, where Trump often spends his holidays and hosts foreign leaders. The three-day extravaganza hosted by Trump saw guests interacting with each other, even amid the coronavirus scares. There was a working dinner with President Jair Bolsonaro of Brazil and a birthday party for Kimberly Guilfoyle, Donald Trump Jr.'s girlfriend, that members of the family attended.
It all fell apart after it was reported that Wajngarten had been tested positive. Subsequently, Bolsonaro went through two testing procedures. Initially, reports said he had tested positive, but the second showed negative results.
Wajngarten was photographed sitting with President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence at Mar-a-Lago, but Pence is yet to be tested for the virus. Trump, on the other hand, seemed relaxed about his encounter with an infected person. "We did nothing very unusual. We sat next to each other for a period of time", he said. "Let's put it this way I’m not concerned."
Trump's daughter, Ivanka who also attended the events at Mar-a-Lago stayed home at the White House, after what could be an accidental brush with the virus. She and Attorney General Bill Barr had posed for a photograph with Peter Dutton, Australian Home Affairs Minister on March 5, only days before he texted positive for COVID-19. They attended a meeting between diplomats from the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the US.
Ivanka self-quarantined out of caution following reports of Dutton testing positive, even though she showed no symptoms. Congressman Matt Gaetz, who was also at Mar-a-Lago on Saturday night self-quarantined after he realized he had come in contact with the attended at CPAC, the political conference that took place at the end of February but tested negative for the virus.
With the exception of the first lady, the whole of the Trump family was at the resort to celebrate Guilfoyle's birthday that weekend including Eric Trump and his wife Lara Trump, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, Tiffany Trump, the president's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, Fox News host Tucker Carlson, National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, Senator Rand Paul's Deputy Chief of Staff Sergio Gor, Fox News' Jesse Watters and his wife Emma Watters, and new acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell.
As of March 16 night, there are 4,711 confirmed cases in the US with 91 fatalities.