President Donald Trump refuses to be tested for COVID-19 despite having been in close contact with two men that have now self-quarantined themselves for 14 days. The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is named the "severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)."
Trump, who has consistently dismissed the health dangers posed by the disease so as not to jeopardize his chances for reelection on November 3, isn't being tested because he shows no signs of the disease, said White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham. She also claims the two Republican Party congressmen in self-quarantine aren't confirmed to be infected.
Doctors have long warned that one of the disturbing characteristics of COVID-19 is most of its victims don't show any symptoms (or are asymptomatic) for at least 14 days. Trump came into contact with these men only since Friday last week.
Speculation is Trump is hunkering down inside the White House after two of his close allies -- Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) -- went into self-quarantine after finding out they'd been in direct contact with a fellow Republican now confirmed with COVID-19. Both congressmen claim they have no symptoms of the coronavirus for now.
Collins shook hands with Trump last Friday when the president traveled to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Georgia en route to two days of golfing at Mar-a-Lago in Florida. On the other hand, Gaetz flew back to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland with Trump on Monday.
U.S. media said Gaetz learned shortly after the plane was airborne both he and Collins had been in contact with a fellow Republican at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Maryland in late February.
Upon finding out, Gaetz isolated himself from the others on the plane and sat alone by himself. He announced he was entering self-quarantine an hour after he left the plane with Trump. Gaetz said he's been tested for the virus "and expects results soon."
Collins isn't confirming if he's been tested for SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19. He also said he'd follow the recommendations of the House Physician and his office will provide updates as appropriate. But it is surprising that two staffers from his office have self-quarantined.
"This afternoon, I was notified by CPAC that they discovered a photo of myself and the patient who has tested positive for coronavirus," said Collins. "While I feel completely healthy and I am not experiencing any symptoms, I have decided to self-quarantine at my home for the remainder of the 14-day period out of an abundance of caution."
There are three other members of Congress that have self-quarantined: Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rep. Paul Gozar (R-AZ) and Rep. Julia Brownley (D-CA).
Dr. Ali Khan, a professor in the Department of Epidemiology at the College of Public Health of the University of Nebraska Medical Center said there's no need for Trump to self-quarantine because of his contact with Gaetz and Collins. He told CNBC people need to self-quarantine if they have "direct contact with a confirmed infected person, not contact with a contact."
