RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel Tests Negative for CCP Virus

Ronna McDaniel, Chair of the Republican National Committee, at the CPAC convention in National Harbor, Md., on Feb. 28, 2019. Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times

Ronna McDaniel, chairwoman of the Republican National Committee, has tested negative for the CCP virus, according to a party spokesman.

“On the advice of her doctor, @GOPChairwoman was administered a test for COVID-19. That test has fortunately come back negative,” the spokesman, Michael Ahrens, said on Twitter.

McDaniel got tested after she experienced symptoms similar to the flu following a trip to President Donald Trump’s Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago.

A number of visitors from outside the country and local, state, and federal officials have gone into self-isolation because of possible exposure to the new virus at the resort.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and a delegation from his country attended a dinner at the resort last week with Trump and a slew of top White House officials, including adviser Ivanka Trump and her husband, senior adviser Jared Kushner. Two members of Bolsonaro’s delegation have tested positive.

Trump was tested late Friday. The test was negative, the White House said the next day. Bolsonaro has also tested negative.

Sens. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) went into self-quarantine over their contact with the delegation, as did some local officials. Graham and Gaetz later tested negative while Scott is still in isolation.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, one of the local officials who entered isolation, tested positive for the CCP virus.

Pennsylvania Avenue, normally filled with commuters during morning rush hour, is shown nearly empty due to the impacts of coronavirus in Washington on March 19, 2020. Confirmed cases of the COVID-19 virus have reached nearly 10,000 in the United States with a reported 150 deaths having been recorded. Win McNamee/Getty Images

President Donald Trump hosts a working dinner with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro at the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla., on March 7, 2020. Tom Brenner/Reuters

The Epoch Times refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a global pandemic.

Ivanka Trump and White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham have been working from home because of the potential exposure to the virus. Attorney General William Barr was working from home after attending an event with an Australian official who later tested positive but has since come back out in public.

The first two members of Congress tested positive for the virus on Wednesday. Rep. Ben McAdams (D-Utah) said he developed mild cold-like symptoms on Saturday evening after returning from Washington. After consulting with his physician on Sunday, he immediately began self-isolating at home.

When his symptoms worsened, he got tested.

“I am still working for Utahns and pursuing efforts to get Utahns the resources they need as I continue doing my job from home until I know it is safe to end my self-quarantine,” he said in a statement.

Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) said he has been in isolation at his Washington apartment since Friday after developing symptoms. Diaz-Balart said he did not return to his home in South Florida because of his wife Tia’s “pre-existing conditions that put her at exceptionally high risk.”

“I’m feeling much better,” Diaz-Balart said on Twitter on Wednesday. He asked people to follow Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to avoid becoming infected and stem the spread of the new illness.