Thirteen restaurant workers enter quarantine after waiting on Trump fundraiser
Popular steakhouse says staff did not come into contact with president at event last week
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Your support makes all the difference.Thirteen restaurant workers have entered quarantine after they waited on a fundraiser for Donald Trump during his visit to Minnesota last week.
The event took place at the home of Marty Davis, CEO of the quartz countertop manufacturer Cambria, on Wednesday.
Staff from Murray’s Restaurant in Minneapolis waited on the fundraiser in Lake Minnetonka on the same day Mr Trump held his last campaign rally prior to testing positive for the coronavirus on Thursday.
About 40 persons were said to have paid $200,000 (£154,000) a couple or $100,000 (£77,000) per person for the chance to meet the US president and hear him speak at the event.
Following his admission to hospital for coronavirus over the weekend, the popular Minneapolis steakhouse issued a statement saying its staff did not come into contact with the 74-year-old president at the event.
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“Our staff was there to work the party only and at no point did any staff come in close proximity to the president,” read a statement.
“Upon learning of the president’s positive Covid-19 test, we immediately enacted a 14-day quarantine for all staff who worked the party. Additionally, each staff member who worked the party will be tested for Covid-19,” it added.
Chuck Sanger, a Murray’s Restaurant spokesperson, said the steakhouse remained open despite asking 13 staff members to enter quarantine.
The announcement came on the same day the president was discharged from the Walter Reed Medical Centre outside Washington D.C., where he spent three nights receiving treatment that included a steroid reserved for those with severe symptoms.
One attendee at the fundraiser, Helene Houle, said in an interview on Monday that nobody got within six foot of the president, CBS News reported, and only after they were tested for the virus.
"We got to have our photos taken with President Trump but we weren't next to him, we were 6 to 8 feet away from him," said Ms Houle. "Everything was pretty top shelf. It was lovely. The food was good."
The president reportedly left the event to attend his campaign rally in Duluth, before dinner was served by Murray's Restaurant workers.
It comes as multiple persons who have come into close contact with Mr Trump in the past week have either tested positive for the coronavirus, or have entered quarantine.
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