President Trump should go into a modified self-quarantine for his own safety and that of the entire senior ranks of the U.S. government.
He should do so because earlier this week he was standing immediately adjacent to a man who now has tested positive for the coronavirus. The man, Fabio Wajngarten, is the press secretary for Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who had dinner with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
In adopting some sort of quarantine, Trump would be following the lead of fellow Republicans — Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Reps. Paul Gosar of Arizona, Doug Collins of Georgia, and Matt Gaetz of Florida — each of whom self-isolated after learning they had close contact with a man who soon thereafter was diagnosed with the virus. It also would track the response of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who is in a form of voluntary self-isolation because his wife is exhibiting mild flu-like symptoms after a trip to the United Kingdom.
While it may not be practical to completely isolate the president, he should be tested for the virus, he should meet in person (rather than by electronic means) with as few people as practicable, and he should be kept physically as far as possible from those with whom he must meet in person. The modified quarantine should extend at least to the outer extent of the known incubation period for the COVID-19 virus.
The presidential quarantine is advisable both for Trump’s own safety and for the good of the U.S. government and people. For Trump, the consideration is this: If he has indeed contracted the virus, his health and very survival as a 73-year-old depend on him being kept as otherwise healthy as he can be. If his system is compromised by the virus, it could be more vulnerable than usual to any other pathogens. So-called secondary infections are common with viruses, and if the coronavirus pandemic behaves like the great flu pandemic in 1918-1920, the risk of death from secondary infections may be even greater than from the virus itself.
The world’s leading representative democracy cannot afford to be hobbled by the lack of a healthy president during a crisis of the sort we now face.
The need to keep other high officials safe is equally strong. No matter how confident Trump feels in his own health, the fact is that this is a highly contagious virus, and it can be spread even before its victims are symptomatic. It is not a sign of machismo, but of folly, for Trump to refuse to be tested and to continue interacting directly with the vice president, Cabinet members, top staff, and members of Congress. The current crisis could grow to massive proportions if the entire top ranks of government, along with the president, are in sick beds, perhaps fighting for their lives. With no healthy top officials and uncertain lines of authority below them, chaos could ensue.
Right now, this nation doesn’t need a president who is tough; it needs a chief executive who is humble, selfless, and wise. Trump may chafe at a modified quarantine, but the good of the nation requires it.
