NJ Health Officials Work To Contact Trace Trump Fundraiser Attendees

Days after President Donald Trump tested positive for COVID-19, health officials in New Jersey are trying to track down everyone who attended a fundraiser at his Bedminster golf course.

ABC News reports that health officials have resorted to emailing attendees of the fundraiser that took place on Thursday to inform them that they may have been exposed to the virus.

An email to one attendee, obtained by the network, read, “The Somerset County Health Department and the New Jersey Department of Health understand that you attended an event… at which time you may have potentially been exposed to COVID-19.”

Since it was disclosed that senior White House adviser Hope Hicks tested positive for the virus on Thursday, the president and First Lady Melania Trump have tested positive for COVID-19 as well as three Republican senators and several White House staffers.

While news of the outbreak in the White House rippled through Washington, D.C., officials in New Jersey say they have had difficulty acquiring the names and contact information of people who were at the golf course on Thursday.

Although the Republican National Committee (RNC) gave the New Jersey Department of Health a list of 200 supporters who attended the event, officials told ABC News that they have not received a lot of cooperation from the White House.

The list provided by the RNC, according to one official, included the names and email addresses of supporters but not their phone numbers — which contact tracers prefer so that they can ensure their message was received.

At the fundraiser, around 60 supporters posed for photos with Trump. According to ABC News, there was a mark placed six feet away from the president to show supporters where to stand for the picture.

On Friday, New Jersy Gov. Phil Murphy (D) said, “We urge everyone who attended yesterday’s event in Bedminster to take full precautions, including self-quarantining and getting tested.”