A pastor who was at the Prayer March on the Mall before attending President Trump’s White House event to announce the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court has tested positive for COVID-19.
Greg Laurie, a pastor at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, California, confirmed his diagnosis in a video message posted to Facebook on Monday.
“I’m in quarantine because that’s what my doctors told me to do,” Laurie said in the video. “I just wish at a time like this we could not politicize something like this and show compassion to people that are struggling with this. It’s real. It really is a pandemic that has swept our nation and even the world. I mean, if the president of the United States can get it, obviously, anyone can get it. … I trust that I’ll come through this and be seeing you all in person soon.”
A church official told New York magazine’s Olivia Nuzzi that members of the church learned that Laurie had tested positive on Sunday. In his video message, Laurie said that he got his results on Friday and that he has “been in quarantine since then.”
A church official tells me that members of the church learned of Pastor Laurie’s positive test result on SUNDAY.
— Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) October 5, 2020
The prayer march, co-organized by Franklin Graham and Jonathan Cahn, was attended by thousands of people before Trump announced his Supreme Court nominee in the Rose Garden on Sept. 26. Few in attendance wore masks, according to PBS, and Laurie’s attendance has given rise to speculation that the pastor possibly infected others who attended.
?BREAKING: Another guest of the WH #SuperSpreader event, Pastor Greg Laurie, tests POSITIVE for #coronavirus, potentially exposing THOUSANDS more people to the deadly virus.
Church officials learned SUNDAY he’d tested positive.?#GOPSuperSpreaders #TrumpVirus #TrumpCovid https://t.co/mg5G6VL0Kd
— Dr. Dena Grayson (@DrDenaGrayson) October 5, 2020
Trump’s Rose Garden event announcing Barrett as his Supreme Court nominee has been described as a super-spreader event. Following the announcement, Trump, first lady Melania Trump, White House aide Hope Hicks, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, and a number of other individuals in Trump’s orbit have tested positive for COVID-19 in recent days. Laurie was present at the Rose Garden event as well.
Trump was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center following his announcement on Friday. He announced Monday that he will be leaving the hospital later in the evening.
