Kellyanne Conway tests positive for virus
Kellyanne Conway, until recently a senior adviser to Donald Trump, has become the latest person in the US President's orbit to test positive for the coronavirus.
Ms Conway revealed her diagnosis on Twitter today.
"I tested positive for COVID-19. My symptoms are mild (light cough) and I'm feeling fine. I have begun a quarantine process in consultation with physicians," she said.
"As always, my heart is with everyone affected by this global pandemic."
Tonight I tested positive for COVID-19. My symptoms are mild (light cough) and I’m feeling fine. I have begun a quarantine process in consultation with physicians.
— Kellyanne Conway (@KellyannePolls) October 3, 2020
As always, my heart is with everyone affected by this global pandemic. ❤️
Ms Conway is now the seventh person to have contracted the virus who attended an event in the White House's Rose Garden a week ago, where Mr Trump announced he had chosen Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the Supreme Court's vacant seat.
The others are Mr Trump himself, his wife Melania, Utah Senator Mike Lee, North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis, the University of Notre Dame's president, Reverend John Jenkins, and a White House reporter who has not been identified.
Kellyanne was seated almost at the exact center of the triangle formed by Sen. Mike Lee, Melania Trump and Rev. Jenkins — all of whom tested positive earlier today. https://t.co/m3u88qDyPQ https://t.co/wm2SesZ4if pic.twitter.com/RLOfrIhGj0
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) October 3, 2020
The event featured more than 150 guests, who sat in close quarters to each other. Few of the attendees wore masks.
Video footage showed Mr Lee, a Republican, hugging and mingling with other guests while his face mask hung uselessly in his hand.
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On Saturday, Sen. Mike Lee was at Trump's announcement nominating Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. He mingled in the Rose Garden with other attendees. On Thursday, he was diagnosed with coronavirus. https://t.co/B4T4Er4OD6 pic.twitter.com/OxtZaDxQfi
— POLITICO (@politico) October 2, 2020
Ms Conway left the White House at the end of August. Her husband George Conway, a conservative lawyer and vehement critic of the President, stepped away from his work for the anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project at the same time.
Both of them cited the need to prioritise their family.
"We disagree about plenty but we are united on what matters most - the kids," Ms Conway said when she announced her departure.
"Our four children are teens and tweens starting a new academic year, in middle school and high school, remotely from home for at least a few months. As millions of parents nationwide know, kids doing school from home requires a level of attention and vigilance that is as unusual as these times."
Mr Conway merely said he would "devote more time to family matters".
The catalyst for their joint decision was their 15-year-old daughter, Claudia, who had slammed both of her parents online and announced plans to "emancipate" herself from them.
Claudia is something of a celebrity on TikTok, where she has 880,000 followers.
"Update, my mum has COVID," she told them today.
"I'm furious. Wear your masks. Don't listen to our idiot f***ing President piece of s***. Protect yourselves and those around you."
More to come.
Originally published as Kellyanne Conway tests positive for virus
