On October 2, President Donald Trump announced publicly that he had tested positive for COVID-19, raising concern about those who may have been exposed to the disease and about what is next to come regarding  public procedures.

   The effects of President Trump testing positive for the Coronavirus has caused lots of questions concerning the timeline of when he was aware of the date he was sick. According to The Los Angeles Times, once the announcement became public, White House officials and doctors went more in depth about when he was aware that he was infected. The President’s medical team suggested that he had been sick for a day and a half before he announced his infection early Friday morning (latimes.com). 

   According to a reporter for The Los Angeles Times, “Trump held a rally and fundraiser in Minnesota on Wednesday and an intimate fundraiser in New Jersey on Thursday while knowing he was sick, potentially exposing supporters, employees and others to the Coronavirus” (latimes.com). 

   “As Trump returned by Marine One at sunset after three nights at Walter Reed: He walked up to a White House balcony, took off his mask for the cameras, put it in his jacket pocket, adjusted his suit, straightened his tie and lingered to give purposeful thumbs ups and salutes,” according to Axios  (axios.com). 

   According to Associated Press, not taking measures for COVID-19 prevention puts others in danger of being exposed. This includes employees from the West Wing. AP News reported, “The West Wing is a ghost town. Staff members are scared of exposure. And the White House is now a treatment ward for not one but two COVID-19 patients, including a President who has long taken the threat of the virus lightly” (apnews.com).

   “Several other White House staffers are known to have the virus. The White House has declined to give a total, citing privacy concerns, but is under pressure to describe the extent of the outbreak and explain how it happened…Senior White House and campaign staff and Republican senators have announced positive coronavirus test results in the days before and after Trump tested positive,” said National Public Radio (npr.org).

   AP Government Teacher Michele Fournier said, “Hopefully it’s affected the West Wing in regard to the level of precaution they are using to protect themselves and others against the spread of the virus.  They should all have been wearing masks in the workplace, but from what I understand, they weren’t.  Hopefully that has changed… I feel they should all be using basic precautions: masks, hand washing, temperature checks, and staying home if you’re not feeling well, just like the rest of us.”

   “I was worried for the President and the people who work closely with him in the White House as well as his family, who obviously have close contact with him daily.  The Coronavirus is no joke, and to be diagnosed at his age was worrisome to me. Regardless of anyone’s personal feelings about this administration, the thought of losing a President to illness or having to invoke the Twenty-fifth Amendment, should be troubling to all Americans,” concluded Fournier.

   According to the US Constitution, the Twenty-fifth Amendment states that in the event that a president passes away or resigns, the Vice President becomes President of the United States (whitehouse.gov).