Trumps COVID-19 diagnosis shows the limits of relying on testing alone

A 74-year-old man said he was one of 46,459 people to test positive for the coronavirus in the United States yesterday. This diagnosis was stunning and destabilizing — unlike the diagnoses of the other 46,458 people — because that man is the president of the United States. Just like every other person in the US, President Donald Trump was still at risk of catching the virus — and he repeatedly disregarded advice that could have reduced his risk.

Trump had access to more resources than most other people in the country: he’s tested regularly for COVID-19, as are the people he regularly comes into contact with. Testing wasn’t enough to keep the virus out of that inner circle — not when he was disregarding other public health advice. The...

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