Out of the 46,459 people who underwent testing and came out positive in the US yesterday, one of them was a 74-year-old man. However, this 74-year-old man’s diagnosis was striking and undermining, unlike the others, because he is the president of the United States.
Like so many others in the US, President Donald Trump is still at risk of catching the virus – no matter how many times he disregarded the advice given in public.
Trump currently had access to many resources than most people in the country: he has been tested regularly for COVID-19, along with the individuals whom he periodically comes into close contact with.
But testing alone wasn’t enough to keep the virus out of the inner circle – mostly when he disregarded other public health advice. The announcement was an intense reminder that testing alone is not going to stop the coronavirus. It must be paired with other protective measures like distancing and masks.
It was known since February that the virus could be also likely to spread quickly and effortlessly between people, and it would be hard to avoid. Some cases can be mild, and many people will be fine. However, the virus will persist. Ever since then, it has been learned more about how it spreads. It increases in big groups, in poorly ventilated rooms when people spend extended time together and precautions like wearing masks are not taken lightly.
Trump has spent months minimizing the effects of the fatal virus while diminishing the importance of the protective measures. He has continued to hold and attend different rallies; most of it is indoors, and doesn’t wear a mask regularly. Also, the people around him aren’t doing it either.
Regular testing cannot make up for all of the risky activities. There are so many openings for the virus to transfer from one person to another in a crowd, inside, or in an intimate conversation. The COVID-19 tests in the market, particularly the quick ones, can miss the people in the early stage of an infection and didn’t have a lot of virus in their system yet. It is likely for someone to be tested gloomy one day, and then tested positive for the next, and it can be transmittable all along.
If the people have acted on the test results, it may also help control the disease spread. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that people isolate themselves from others after learning that they have been exposed.
However, Trump has reportedly maintained his schedule, like attending a fundraiser, after knowing that he had been exposed to the virus. This could have placed many other people, along with the service workers, at a higher risk of catching the disease.
Like another 74-year older man who has COVID-19, President Trump is at a high risk of having a severe case of the COVID-19 – the virus itself is more dangerous to people aging beyond 65, and men will be likely to get sicker than women. However, he will prove unique among other people tested positive simultaneously; he will have access to the most prestigious medical care.
This is a remarkable case, but in a lot of ways, it has also been a familiar story of COVID-19 in the US, which still has the largest outbreak of the virus in the world. It is not yet controlled for COVID-19 is a viral disease, and it won’t spare anyone even if he is the president.
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