last weekend people left cpac comforted time and time again by assurances that 'everything is under control' and 'all is well' concerning the coronavirus. but within days it was revealed that one of the attendees had tested positive for the virus. while sources, should you choose to believe them, have made it clear that the unidentified person did not have personal contact with either the president or vice-president, it seems others who were adamant defenders of the administration's response weren't quite so lucky.
senator ted cruz, congressmen paul gosar (along with several members of his staff) and doug collins have announced that they are putting themselves under self-quarantine after it was revealed they'd had contact with the man infected. acting chief-of-staff, mark meadows, has also self-isolated out of caution even though he was tested and those results were negative. the white house, however, has confirmed that the president himself has not been tested since, according to press secretary, stephanie grisham, "...because he has had neither prolonged contact with any known confirmed covid-19 patients, nor does he have any symptoms....(he) remains in excellent health... and his physician will continue to closely monitor him." [i guess we don't have to be worried about all that sniffling then.]
while getting sick is not funny, and i'm certainly not wishing that for anyone, it's humorous that one of the most recent ones to find themselves on the possible plus side of a covid-19 test is florida representative and prominent administration suck-up, matt gaetz. a week ago he appeared on the floor of the house wearing a gas mask preparing for the vote on emergency coronavirus funding. defending his unique attire (also wearing what looked like bowling shoes. chic.) he claimed "Essentially the floor of the congress is a petri dish. We all fly into these dirty airports, we touch and selfie everyone we meet, and then we congregate together." since he ended up voting for the legislation one can say he wasn't mocking or protesting the proposal but making a statement for...cleaner floors? cleaner airports? as far as selfies, you don't have to take selfies with "everyone", it's not really a part of your job.
this all took place on the 4th, prior to cpac, and after the convention was over, gaetz returned to florida. on sunday he flew to d.c. aboard air force 1 with the president. it was after boarding he said he was notified he had come into contact with cpac's 'patient zero' and he took it upon himself to self-quarantine in a separate part of the plane apart from the president and will continue at home for the next 2 weeks until he gets test results. but, remember, no tests on potus because he hasn't had contact with 'CONFIRMED cases'. would that change if matt is 'confirmed'? please note that what could also alter his reality is if collins is tested positive since there is video of them shaking hands for several minutes (i.e. 'personal contact') as the visit to the cdc began on the 7th, 5 days after the cpac ended, after which the two were seen together through the entire tour.
one member of congress who was also apparently exposed is texas representative louis gohmert, but he says he has no intention to self-quarantine, because he doesn't have any symptoms and....jesus? of course, i'm only guessing on that last part.
along with members of the administrative staff and congress, it's being reported that all new in-coming staff members will be required to undergo the 2-week quarantine before taking their places in the white house. also being reported is the great-ad-powerful don has expressed concern over reporters flying on air force 1, suggesting some might be inclined to intentionally infect themselves in order to pass it along in those close-quartered flights.
kids, the word of the day is paranoia. can you say paranoia?
Ooops...too late...I'm already tacky.
ReplyDeleteI sur wisht I was jenous like thoos on are forse 1. :)