President Trump tested positive for the coronavirus and reportedly started feeling ill on Oct. 1.
It is unlikely that we’ll know exactly how or when he was infected with the virus. Most people develop symptoms about five days after they are exposed, but it can take anywhere from two to 14 days.
But the timing of the president’s symptoms offers a clue about when he may have become contagious. Anyone in close contact with Mr. Trump — within six feet of him for 15 minutes or more — during the two days before he started feeling sick should quarantine for 14 days, the C.D.C. says, even if they test negative during that time.
Anyone who tests positive for the coronavirus should isolate for at least 10 days afterward to avoid spreading the infection to others. But those with severe illness may need to isolate for longer, up to 20 days.
The White House hasn’t been transparent about the severity of Mr. Trump’s illness, which makes it hard to know how long he should isolate. Mr. Trump was hospitalized Oct. 2 and received treatments that are typically reserved for those who are severely ill. That suggests he may need to isolate until Oct. 21.
Mr. Trump has been busy during the periods that the C.D.C. recommends patients like him should quarantine or be in isolation. He traveled to gatherings in multiple states on the days when he was most likely contagious and went maskless at times in the week following his positive test, risking exposure to those around him.
The trajectory of a coronavirus infection is unpredictable, and health experts caution that Covid-19 patients can take abrupt turns for the worse during the second week of illness. Mr. Trump’s doctor, however, suggested the president could return to public engagements by Saturday.
The president made plans Friday to hold a rally at the White House on Saturday and to travel to Florida for a rally on Monday, both falling within the 20 days that public health guidelines suggest he should be isolated.
Already, more than 20 members of his staff and others who were near him before his diagnosis have since tested positive. There is no evidence that the president is the source of their infections, but the outbreak in and around the White House has drawn attention to its failure to follow basic guidance to prevent the virus’s spread.
Rose Garden Ceremony
On Sept. 26, Mr. Trump hosted a ceremony for the Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett in the White House Rose Garden. The ceremony and indoor receptions that day fall within Mr. Trump’s exposure window. At least 12 attendees later tested positive, including the Republican senators Mike Lee and Thom Tillis.
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top expert on infectious diseases, is now calling the gathering a “superspreader” event.
Likely exposure window
Positive result or symptoms
Negative test
Contacts should
quarantine
Minimum
isolation
Note: Exposure windows are estimated based on the positive test date when details about the onset of symptoms are not available. Negative tests are shown for those who reported them.
Gold Star Families Event
Mr. Trump later blamed the outbreak on a Sept. 27 gathering at the White House where the president and first lady hosted families who have lost relatives in military conflicts. One attendee, Charles W. Ray, a U.S. Coast Guard admiral, has since tested positive. Nearly all of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are in quarantine as a precaution.
Gen. Gary L. Thomas, the assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, who met with several military leaders last week, has also tested positive.
Likely exposure window
Positive result or symptoms
Negative test
Contacts should
quarantine
Minimum
isolation
Presidential Debate
The White House has repeatedly refused to say when Mr. Trump last tested negative for the virus, raising concerns that he could have already been infectious when he shared the debate stage on Sept. 29 with his democratic rival, Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
Several people who attended the debate or flew aboard Air Force One to Cleveland and back — including Mr. Trump’s campaign manager, Bill Stepien — later tested positive.
Likely exposure window
Positive result or symptoms
Negative test
Contacts should
quarantine
Minimum
isolation
Once his diagnosis was announced, anyone who had been in close contact with Mr. Trump during the previous two days should have quarantined for 14 days as a precaution, even if they tested negative.
A negative test is not a guarantee that a person who has been exposed is virus-free, because it can take multiple days for an infection to reach detectable levels. Some rapid coronavirus tests, including those used by the White House, are prone to missing infections.
Rallies and Fund-raisers
Hope Hicks, a senior adviser to the president, was the first person in his immediate orbit known to have experienced symptoms of Covid-19. She fell ill on Sept. 30 while accompanying the president to campaign events in Minnesota and tested positive the next day.
Anyone who had close contact with her during that trip — Mr. Trump included — should have gone into quarantine for 14 days.
Likely exposure window
Positive result or symptoms
Negative test
Contacts should
quarantine
Minimum
isolation
Instead, Mr. Trump boarded Marine One and then Air Force One for flights to and from New Jersey for a fund-raiser.
Several White House aides who took the trip to Minnesota were probably in close contact with Ms. Hicks. They include Nicholas Luna, Kayleigh McEnany and Stephen Miller.
Ms. McEnany did not quarantine in the following days, instead working at the White House and receiving negative tests through Oct. 4. Mr. Miller did quarantine and said he tested negative every day until Oct. 6.
All three aides and Mr. Trump have now tested positive.
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October 10, 2020 at 12:16PM
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How Long Should Trump Be in Isolation? - The New York Times
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