The White House has been accused of not bothering to contact trace confirmed cases linked to the growing coronavirus cluster involving more than a dozen members of Donald Trump’s team.
Much of the focus has been on where Mr Trump contracted the virus, and where it has spread – given his busy schedule the week he returned a positive result.
The First Lady had also been keeping up appearances, but there is little hope officials will invest resources into finding out who she may have infected.
Of particular concern is a White House military-themed ceremony that she and the President attended the week before they were diagnosed with COVID-19.
Confusion had already surrounded Melania’s health following a kidney procedure conducted at Walter Reed hospital on May 14.
The Gold Star Family event on September 25 was Melania’s first public appearance in weeks.
The families of 40 fallen US soldiers were present, but she nor any other attendees can be seen wearing a face mask or social distancing, according to photos posted on her Instagram.
She and Mr Trump are also pictured bunched up close together with guests in the East Room. No one is wearing a face covering.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by First Lady Melania Trump (@flotus) on
Then on September 27, more than 200 people packed into the White House to celebrate Amy Barrett’s Supreme Court nomination.
At least eight attendees at the crowded Rose Garden event have since tested positive for COVID-19, but the White House has decided not to conduct contact tracing.
It has instead sought to track down those who came into close contact with Mr Trump in the two days before his coronavirus diagnosis, the New York Times reported.
The White House had earlier rejected an offer from the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) to investigate the growing virus cluster involving at least 18 mostly prominent Republicans.
The CDC has been offering to help with contract tracing efforts since Mr Trump’s diagnosis was disclosed last week, USA Today reports.
Most recently, the White House Medical Unit was on a phone call with the CDC’s leadership team during which it again declined an offer of assistance in its contact tracing efforts.
Melania posted pictures to Instagram showing her and Mr Trump inside the White House with Ms Barrett and her family. Again, no masks and no social distancing.
On Tuesday (Australian time), Melania tweeted that she will continue to stay at the White House – unlike her husband – as she recovers from the coronavirus.
“I am feeling good and will continue to rest at home,” she wrote.
While she rests up, little is known about the people she may have spread the coronavirus to in the days before her diagnosis.
