Those who witnessed Trump’s personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani in the flesh as he spewed misleading voter fraud claims during a Michigan House Oversight Committee hearing last week have been advised to quarantine through at least Dec. 12, following Giuliani’s COVID-19 diagnosis and hospitalization.
A day after Giuliani’s COVID-19 diagnosis was announced by President Trump, Ingham County Health Department issued a press release saying that individuals who were within six feet of the maskless Giuliani during the highly unusual legislative session in Michigan — which lasted more than four hours — must quarantine because it’s very likely they were exposed to COVID-19.
The Ingham County Health Department, which consulted with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said that state health officials concur that given the course Giuliani’s illness, it is “extremely likely” that Trump’s lawyer was “contagious” during his testimony.
The Ingham County Health Department noted that people who contract COVID-19 are contagious in the two days prior to experiencing symptoms or testing positive for the infectious disease if asymptomatic. The department also acknowledged that Giuliani’s hospitalization on Sunday is “highly indicative of onset prior to Saturday making Wednesday a likely exposure date.”
“Anyone who did not wear a face covering during the proceedings must quarantine,” Ingham County Health Department said. “Also, anyone who was within 6 feet of Giuliani for 15 minutes, which can be cumulative rather than a single 15-minute period (regardless of mask usage), must quarantine.”
After noting that Giuliani was hospitalized with COVID-19 only a few days after “being in a confined conference room in Lansing for several hours without a mask,” Ingham County Health Officer Linda Vail said that she’s also concerned over the many attendees who appeared sans mask.
“This is the highest level of risk. Those who were present without a mask and those who were within 6 feet of Mayor Giuliani must quarantine for the safety of others,” Vail said. “I wish Mayor Giuliani a full and speedy recovery.”
The Ingham County Health Department cited CDC guidance in issuing its quarantine advisory. Although the standard length of quarantine is 14 days, the CDC has recently revised its quarantine guidelines to 10 days following COVID-19 exposure.
Giuliani’s maskless appearance at a legislative session in Michigan last week came amid his travel blitz to peddle the sitting president’s fruitless legal attempts to overturn election results.
In addition to his maskless appearance at a legislative session in Michigan last week, Giuliani also appeared sans mask at a hearing in Atlanta at the Georgia Capitol, and in Arizona where he and fellow Trump campaign lawyer Jenna Ellis spoke at an informal hearing in Phoenix with nine GOP lawmakers.
Shortly after Trump announced that Giuliani tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, Arizona Senate Chief of staff Wendy Baldo informed all senators that “due to COVID-19 concerns and out of an abundance of caution,” the chamber would be closed the entire week.
