Tipsheet

The White House Correspondents' Dinner Is Officially a Super Spreader Event

Julio Rosas
Julio Rosas  |  May 04, 2022 10:25 AM

In a surprise to no one, the out of touch, self-congratulatory dinner known as the White House Corespondents Dinner resulted in multiple attendees testing positive for COVID-19 despite the event having a vaccine and testing requirements.

CNN reported" reporters and staffers from CNN, ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, Politico, and other participating news organizations have tested positive for the virus," adding, "There is no exact data to indicate precisely how many people have caught the virus from the weekend. But, anecdotally speaking, much of Tuesday afternoon seemed to consist of attendees trading text messages and emails about colleagues and friends and people they had seen who had tested positive."

Notably, ABC News' Chief Washington Correspondent Jonathan Karl tested positive for COVID-19. Karl accepted an award for news broadcasting the evening of the dinner and shook hands with President Joe Biden, which he described as "an impromptu moment at the podium last night." Karl also sat next to Kim Kardashian during the event.

"He tested positive for COVID Monday night, but tested negative on Saturday afternoon before the White House Correspondents Dinner by medically-supervised staff," a person familiar with the matter told Politico. "He had no symptoms on Saturday. Jon is currently isolating and participating in contract tracing."

The White House Corespondents Dinner is not the only time over the weekend where politicos and reporters gathered. Many new organizations host parties before and after the dinner, having different degrees of COVID-19 prevention protocols.

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A few of the attendees voiced concern about COVID spreading at the dinner, but still went to it and stayed anyway.