Spread some more Covid, Don Covita

That's 2,000 fools if they go.

President Donald Trump on Saturday will address hundreds of supporters on the South Lawn of the White House before traveling to Florida on Monday for a rally, marking his return to public events after being hobbled by the coronavirus.

Guests for Saturday’s event won’t be tested for the virus and won’t be required to wear masks, setting off fresh concerns that the White House itself has become a vector for the disease.

  Politico

Going for herd immunity in a big way. Herd idiocy.

Although the president’s physician, Sean Conley, has previously said Trump could likely resume such activities starting Saturday, it’s unclear if the president has tested negative since falling ill, or whether he is still contagious.

The fact that we're not being told should give us a fucking clue.

On Saturday, Trump will speak to a crowd gathered by conservative activist Candace Owens, whose Blexit Foundation encourages Black Americans to leave the Democratic Party.

His speech is being billed as “Remarks to Peaceful Protesters for Law & Order,” according to an invitation. He’ll address the crowd from the Truman Balcony off of the Blue Room, a large state room on the main floor of the White House.

Ha. Covita.

In a statement, the White House said attendees will be “instructed” to wear a mask while at the complex, but will only be screened for Covid-19 with a temperature check and “brief questionnaire" — not a test. The statement added that attendees will be “strongly encouraged,” but not required, to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s coronavirus guidelines, such as social distancing and mask wearing.

Also...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention drafted a sweeping order last month requiring all passengers and employees to wear masks on all forms of public and commercial transportation in the United States, but it was blocked by the White House, according to two federal health officials.

The order would have been the toughest federal mandate to date aimed at curbing the spread of the coronavirus, which continues to infect more than 40,000 Americans a day. The officials said that it was drafted under the agency’s “quarantine powers” and that it had the support of the secretary of health and human services, Alex M. Azar II, but the White House Coronavirus Task Force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, declined to even discuss it.

[...]

The administration requires the task force to sign off on coronavirus-related policies.

[...]

“Local and state authorities need to determine the best approach for their responsive effort depending on how the coronavirus is impacting their area.”

  NYT

So if one state requires masks on airplanes and an adjoining one doesn't, are passengers required to mask up mid-air?

“I think masks are the most powerful weapon we have to confront Covid and we all need to embrace masks and set the example for each other,” Dr. Robert R. Redfield, the C.D.C. director, who oversaw the drafting of the order, said in a recent interview.

Then take the advice of your predecessor and stop being a wimp.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 10/11:

"This evening I am happy to report that in addition to the President meeting the CDC criteria for the safe discontinuation of isolation, this morning's COVID PCR sample demonstrates, by currently recognized standards, he is no longer considered a transmission risk to others," White House physician Dr. Sean Conley said in a memo.

"Now at day 10 from symptom onset, fever-free for well over 24 hours and all symptoms improved, the assortment of advanced diagnostic tests obtained reveal there is no longer evidence of actively replicating virus," Conley added, stopping short of saying that Trump had tested negative for the coronavirus. He also did not say whether the president was still exhibiting symptoms. 

  NPR

Gee, I wonder why. Also, the guidelines say you're cleared when you're fever-free IF you're not taking drugs that reduce or mask fever.

The White House said this week that it would update when the president had tested negative for the coronavirus. But by Saturday evening, no such announcement had come.