"I had incidental contact with him very briefly", Schlapp said on Fox News on Sunday, adding "I can verify that he had no contact with either President or the Vice President".
On Sunday, The Washington Examiner reported that Schlapp shook hands with US President Donald Trump at the CPAC, suggesting that there was a probability of the virus spreading to those who work at the White House.
"Dear Washington Examiner ‘friends’. I have consistently said that I had incidental contact with this infected CPAC attendee but have no symptoms. We have zero new cases. The POTUS is healthy. You will need to decide if you want to report facts or incite panic. I choose the former", Schlapp wrote on Twitter, commenting on The Washington Examiner article.
Dear Exam. “friends”
— Matt Schlapp (@mschlapp) March 8, 2020
I have consistently said that I had incidental contact w this attendee but have no symptoms. We have Zero new cases. The POTUS is healthy. You will need to decide if you want to report facts or incite panic. I choose the former. https://t.co/yKhhoO1rwW
Schlapp stressed that all of the prominent political figures who attended CPAC, including Trump, washed and sanitized their hands multiple times during the conference.
On Saturday, the American Conservative Union announced in a statement that one of the CPAC attendees had tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19). According to the release, the exposure occurred prior to the conference and the infected individual is now in quarantine.
The CPAC took place at the end of last month at National Harbor outside Washington DC and was attended by US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence, among other political figures.
According to the American Conservative Union, the CPAC attendee who had tested positive for coronavirus had no interaction with the President or the Vice President and never attended the events in the main hall.
