An event last weekend at the White House Rose Garden is in focus as more people close to Donald Trump disclosed that they have tested positive for the coronavirus. The US President announced on Friday that First Lady Melania Trump and he have tested Covid-19 positive. 

Public health experts have expressed alarm at the number of cases that appear linked to the event on September 26 held in the Rose Garden to celebrate the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett, Trump’s conservative nominee to fill a seat on the Supreme Court left vacant by the death of the iconic Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg last month. 

At least seven people who attended the Rose Garden event have now tested positive, including Donald and Melania Trump, former White House top aide Kellyanne Conway, Republican senators Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Mike Lee of Utah, University of Notre Dame President John Jenkins and Trump’s campaign advisor Chris Christie.

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Photos from the event, at which more than 100 people gathered, showed guests sitting in close proximity to each other, many without masks. Reports said guests hugged and kissed without wearing masks and that the outdoor ceremony was followed by an indoor celebration. 

Chris Christie is among several aides that helped Trump prepare for the first presidential debate on September 30 and who have since announced positive tests. Another Republican senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin announced on Saturday that he had tested positive, adding to a growing list from the president’s orbit to have contracted the virus. Trump’s campaign manager, 42-year-old Bill Stepien too has tested positive for the virus.

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Thom Tillis and Mike Lee sit on a Senate Judiciary Committee which is slated to hold hearings for Barrett. Both have said they will quarantine for 10 days instead of 14 to be able to attend the beginning of the Barrett hearings. While the US Senate will not be back until October 19 owing to the growing number of senators testing positive, the judiciary committee said it would proceed with hearings from October 12. If more Republican positive, it could derail the bid to confirm Barrett to the Supreme Court quickly. A vote is planned on October 22. 

However Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that the confirmation process was going “full steam ahead”. “He’s (Trump) in good spirits and we talked business — especially how impressed Senators are with the qualifications of Judge Barrett. Full steam ahead with the fair, thorough, timely process that the nominee, the Court, & the country deserve”, McConnell said in a tweet.

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If Democrat members on the committee boycott the hearing and more Republicans fall sick, they may be short of a quorum; a majority of the 22 committee members have to be present for quorum. Republicans have 12 seats on the committee.