At least 18 members of the University of Notre Dame contingent who traveled to Washington, DC for Saturday’s introduction of fellow faculty member Amy Coney Barrett as President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee are undergoing coronavirus testing, according to the Washington Post.
The faculty members attend the Rose Garden event during which at least eight people were potentially infected with the coronavirus. Notre Dame president Rev. John I. Jenkins, who traveled with the group, tested positive for the virus Friday. None of them wore masks or practiced social distancing at the event.
The faculty members were tested for the coronavirus using a saliva test earlier in the week, but they are undering more reliable deep nasal swab tests. Results are expected within 48 hours.
Other member of the Notre Dame faculty expressed dismay that the contingent did not honor public health practices while at the event while the University is enforcing them on campus.
“There is legitimately some worry that the group that went to Washington and came back has brought some risk to the campus and to the South Bend community,” said Mark McKenna, a professor at the law school. “I think there has been a lot of disappointment that people on our campus went to and participated in an event that didn’t abide by the rules we have established here.”