Gov. Phil Murphy is urging anyone who was at a fundraiser for President Donald Trump held in Bedminster on Thursday to take full “precautions” following the news that the president and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the coronavirus.
Trump announced on Twitter just before 1 a.m. that he and his wife tested positive for the virus.
It comes just hours after Trump held a fundraising event for his reelection campaign at Trump National Golf Course in Bedminster. The partly indoor event included a roundtable discussion and photo opportunity with the president. Many of the guests are believed to be from New Jersey.
“Even in the early hours of this morning, the minute we got a confirmatory test on the president, we felt that it was important to get the news out at that time,” said White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Many who are critical of the president questioned why the president went ahead with the Bedminster event – which took him through Morristown Airport – when he already knew that his close aide, Hope Hicks, had tested positive for the virus that same day.
Murphy and Health Commissioner Judith Persichilli said on Friday that they both wished the president and first lady a speedy recovery. But Murphy also issued a warning for everyone who attended the event to be cautious of the virus.
“We urge everyone in or around the Bedminster event to take precautions, including self-quarantining and getting tested,” Murphy said. “I think they’d want me to say, if you just get tested today, you won’t give the virus enough time to incubate. You won’t know…self-quarantine…wait five or seven days and get tested.”
Bedminster Mayor Lawrence Jacobs also urged caution, saying that the Somerset County Department of Health is doing contract tracing to identify close contacts and potential exposures at the Trump event.
The president and Mrs. Trump are said to be experiencing “mild symptoms,” but his chief of staff says that Trump is still working while quarantining in the White House.