Amid the jokes, virus spread at gala in US

WASHINGTON－The White House Correspondents' Dinner has been described as a superspreader event, as COVID-19 infections among its guests are on the rise.

The famed media party, which returned in late April after two years of cancellations due to the pandemic, was attended by 2,600 journalists and senior government officials, most of whom did not wear face masks in a crowded ballroom.

High-profile COVID-19 cases following the dinner included Secretary of State Antony Blinken, CBS President and CEO George Cheeks, ABC News' chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl, and VOA's chief national correspondent Steve Herman.

Reporters and staffers of CNN, NBC News, Politico and The Washington Post also tested positive for the virus.

Jada Yuan, who covered the event held at the Washington Hilton for The Post, also revealed that she caught the virus afterward, while warning against an "everybody's going to get it eventually" attitude around the disease.

Guests at the black-tie annual gathering were asked to provide proof of vaccination and a same-day negative COVID-19 rapid test before entry.

US President Joe Biden also made an appearance at the event. He sat next to Cheeks and shook hands with Karl, but skipped the eating portion.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday that Biden "is regularly tested" and that he tested negative for COVID-19 as recently as on Tuesday.

The White House Correspondents' Dinner came several weeks after the "superspreading" Gridiron Club and Foundation dinner, in which more than 10 percent of attendees were infected with the virus after the event.

Comedian and The Daily Show host Trevor Noah, speaking at the White House dinner, joked: "It is my great honor to be speaking at the nation's most distinguished superspreader event."

Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to Biden, privately criticized the decision to hold the White House dinner, singling it out as a troubling sign that many people in the United States no longer see COVID-19 as a serious threat, reported Politico, citing several people who heard his remarks during a call with public health experts on Thursday afternoon.

COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are on the rise in the US, according to the latest weekly review published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Although virus-related deaths continue to decrease, the CDC wrote that the US is expected to reach 1 million deaths soon.

Xinhua