CNN reported Tuesday that some staff from CNN, ABC News, NBC News, CBS News and Politico have tested positive since the dinner.
Thousands of people attend the dinner, which was held in the Washington Hilton’s basement-level ballroom, the traditional locale.
Pete Davidson (left) and Kim Kardashian (right) walk the red carpet at Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner. Trevor Noah joked that, ‘Fauci thought it was too dangerous to come tonight. Pete Davidson thinks it’s OK. ‘And we all went with Pete’
Unlike the early April Gridiron dinner – where more than 10 per cent of dinner guests tested positive for COVID in its aftermath – the White House Correspondents’ Association had attendees take an antigen test in the 24 hours before dinner began.
The Gridiron Club only required guests to show proof of vaccination.
WHCD attendees had to snap a picture of their negative COVID test and upload it to an app called Bindle.
Another difference between the Gridiron Dinner and WHCD is that while the Gridiron Dinner is a singular event, the WHCD is generally a whole weekend of parties – kicking off Thursday night with several fetes, it continues through the weekend with dinners, after-parties and at least three large-scale brunches.
Organizers approached COVID protocols differently at every event.
At a minimum, most required proof of vaccination – though it wasn’t always checked.
Others didn’t take any chances.
At the annual Creative Coalition dinner, for example, held Friday night at the YOTEL Washington, guests couldn’t enter the indoor dinner space without being swabbed for COVID first.
The arts advocacy group hired Viral Concierge to perform a rapid antigen test.
Guests received their COVID test results directly to their phones, which they presented to security as their ticket to enter.
The president of the White House Correspondents’ Association Steven Portnoy pointed to the association’s 24-hour testing procotols in a statement to DailyMail.com.
‘We worked hard to publicize our protocols and encouraged those eligible to get booster shots in the weeks leading up to the dinner,’ Portnoy said. ‘Our event implemented protocols that went beyond any guidance or regulation issued by the CDC or the D.C. health department.’
Dr. Anthony Fauci (left), who attended the superspreader Gridiron Dinner in early April, opted to skip the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, but did attend Saturday’s predominantly outdoor garden brunch. He’s photographed with one of the organizers, Tammy Haddad (right)
‘We wish anyone who may not be feeling well a speedy recovery,’ Portnoy added.
A DailyMail.com inquiry about whether the group is keeping track of positive cases has gone unreturned.
Noah immediately brought up the fact that the dinner could turn into a superspreader when he took over the podium from Biden at Saturday night’s dinner.
‘It is my great honor to be speaking tonight at the nation’s most distinguished superspreader event,’ he said.
‘For real, what are we doing here? Did none of you learn anything from the Gridiron dinner? Nothing?’ he said. Do you read any of your own newspapers?’ the Daily Show host asked.
‘You guys spent the last two years telling everyone the importance of wearing masks and avoiding large in-door gatherings, then the second someone offers you a free dinner, you all turn into Joe Rogan,’ Noah added.
Noah pointed out that Biden’s top COVID adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, decided against attending the dinner.
Fauci had been a guest at the Gridiron Dinner – and attended at least one outdoor event over WHCD weekend, the Saturday morning Garden Brunch.
‘I mean Dr. Fauci dropped out, that should have been a pretty big sign,’ Noah went on. ‘Fauci thought it was too dangerous to come tonight. Pete Davidson thinks it’s OK,’ Noah said to laughs.
‘And we all went with Pete,’ he said.