Pro-Israel group confirms at least two DC conference attendees from New York tested positive for coronavirus

At least two people who attended the American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s Policy Conference in Washington, DC, have tested positive for the coronavirus, the pro-Israel group announced Friday evening.

The individuals are from New York, according to a tweet from the group. AIPAC previously announced that some attendees from New York were potentially exposed to the virus prior to the conference, which was attended by Vice President Mike Pence and many lawmakers and aides.

“We have continued to remain in constant communication with the Westchester County Health Department and the DC Health Department which is coordinating with New York Health Department, and national health authorities,” AIPAC said in the tweet.

The group added that the health authorities’ guidance “continues to be that all conference participants should follow CDC guidelines and consult their health care providers if they feel ill or have medical questions.”

Members of the administration’s coronavirus task force were caught off guard when asked earlier Friday about the two positive coronavirus tests.

A reporter at the task force briefing asked Pence if he was concerned the virus is now in Washington and that some members of Congress could have potentially contracted the virus.

“That’s the first I’ve heard of it, in the midst of a busy day,” Pence said.

Pence then directed the question to Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who said that “when you have a lack of information, it’s tough to make anything definitive.”

“But, obviously if you have someone who is here, I mean, the risk of there being a major outbreak obviously is what everybody thinks about,” Fauci continued. “But what will happen is that those individuals that were infected will have contact-tracing, and that’s the ‘public health weapon’ if you want to call it that, that we have, to get those people isolated and to do the contact-tracing.”

He added that “we don’t have enough information now because this is the first that I’ve actually heard about it also with a busy day.”