Statement: Hennepin County's role in contact tracing after private fundraising event for President Trump

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Hennepin County Minnesota

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Carolyn Marinan, Communications, 612-348-5969

Hennepin County's role in contact tracing after private fundraising event for President Trump

Hennepin County Public Health is aware that the President participated in a fundraising event that took place at a residence in the county, during his infectious period. We learned about this event through the local media. From media reports it appears that a number of people may have had close contact with the President that may have resulted in exposure to COVID-19.

Thus far we have not been contacted with a list of event attendees, so it is unclear how many of those people are residents of Hennepin County. It is our practice to do the contact investigation and contact tracing only for residents of our county. When we receive contact information for any Hennepin County residents in attendance, we will follow our usual contact tracing protocol, and will advise that they be tested and quarantine for 14 days from the date of the event.

As always, we will honor data privacy and will not disclose the names of the people we contact. We are in close contact with the Minnesota Department of Health on this matter.

Information about COVID-19 community testing is available at hennepin.us/testing.

 

Guidance from Minnesota Department of Health

Anyone who attended events associated with the President’s visit and who now has symptoms should get tested right away.

People should consider getting tested even if they do not have symptoms because some people may not develop or recognize symptoms and people can spread the virus even without displaying symptoms. People should get tested five to seven days after the event. If they test negative, they should get tested again around 12 days after the event. People should get tested in their home communities and seek testing from their health care provider when possible. 

Anyone who was in direct contact with President Trump or another known COVID-19 case needs to quarantine and should get tested.

It is important to understand that quarantining for 14 days is necessary regardless of test results. (A person could get a negative test on day 10 but still develop symptoms on days 11, 12, 13 or 14. Therefore we say, “you cannot test out of quarantine.”)

Anyone who attended any large group gathering, especially one with limited social distancing and/or masking, should be alert to potential symptoms of COVID-19 infection, and limit social interactions for 14 days.

This is true even if they feel no symptoms of illness.

Look for more news on the Hennepin County website at hennepin.us/news.

Discover how we're making a difference in our communities at hennepin.us/stories.