CONNECTICUT, USA — On Friday, America woke up as a nervous nation to the news that the leader of the free world and the First Lady have the virus that’s plagued the globe for nearly a year.
Let’s keep in mind we are also just 32 days away from an election.
This news certainly has the potential to throw it into chaos. It has implications on governance and national security, but right now, the focus is on containing the spread.
"October and November are going to be incredibly important months. If we can maintain the masks, maintain the caution, maintain the distancing we will be able to do this safely. We will be able to continue to have our kids go to school where overwhelmingly they’ve been able to do that safely. But I think this is no time to lower our guard," said Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont.
With POTUS and FLOTUS testing positive for COVID, the race is on the track and trace to see where the pervasive virus has laid its tentacles.
"I think it was a wakeup call," said Gov. Lamont. "It was wake up call for a lot of people who were beginning to get very casual about COVID and wearing the mask. I’ve been getting tested regularly. Every two to 3 weeks for some months now. My staff is going to get tested more regularly."
Gov. Lamont told FOX61 he and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz will try and hold events separately to minimize exposure if one of them gets ill.
Lamont added, "and by the way, the President's staff is tested on a daily basis. It reminds you resting is not foolproof. There are leaks in that system."
He’s right. The White House uses a rapid Abbot lab test that’s most reliable when someone is showing obvious symptoms. 40% of people don’t.
"That’s when people are symptomatic. They are shedding a lot of virus. It has pretty good sensitivity. But any test whether it’s the rapid antigen or PCR test, when you are dealing with asymptomatic people you don’t know where they are on the infection curve," remarked Dr. Alberto Ko, the Chair of Infectious Disease at the Yale School of Medicine.
Dr. Albert Ko has been dubbed Connecticut’s Dr. Fauci. He told FOX61 the president’s age and weight put him at higher risk of complications. I asked him what advice he would give the President if he were the White House physician.
"Within 7 to 10 days people can have a prolonged course and they can worsen into their second week of illness so we are going to want to watch him very carefully and of course he’s going to need bed rest," said Ko.
And what’s the risk level to Vice President Biden and Sen. Kamala Harris? Socially distanced on a debate stage.
They’ve both tested negative. But it’s a snapshot in time. A negative test one day can be positive the next.
Ko said, "He was on the debate. I can’t really comment on the ventilation status of that hall. We know that indoor settings are more prone for transmission. We do know that the virus can in specific circumstances travel beyond that 6-foot rule but the highest risk is within 6 feet."
Political experts told FOX61 they expect to see surrogates to the President to take his place on the campaign trail. Right now, it’s still unclear if the Vice President debate planned for next week will go as scheduled.