George Cheeks, the president of CBS, tests positive for coronavirus after attending the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
George Cheeks, the president and chief executive of CBS, tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday, just days after sitting beside President Biden at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the network confirmed on Friday.
Mr. Cheeks is fully vaccinated and has received a booster shot, according to CBS, and tested negative before the dinner on Saturday, and on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
“He is feeling fine and working from home,” the company said in a statement.
Mr. Cheeks is one of several people who attended the White House Correspondents’ Dinner only to later test positive for coronavirus, including Antony J. Blinken, the secretary of state, and several journalists, such as Jonathan Karl, ABC News’s chief Washington correspondent, who shook hands with Mr. Biden during the dinner, and Steve Herman, the chief national correspondent at Voice of America.
As of Friday night, it was unclear how many cases had been confirmed among people who attended the dinner or related events. The dinner required proof of vaccination and a same-day negative test, and boosters were strongly encouraged; the associated events set their own policies.
At the dinner, Mr. Cheeks sat between President Biden and Jill Biden, the first lady, all three unmasked.
The comedian Trevor Noah headlined the event, delivering zingers for nearly half an hour before a ballroom of 2,600 journalists, celebrities and political figures. He opened by calling the dinner “the nation’s most distinguished superspreader event.”
Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, said on Wednesday that President Biden had tested negative on Tuesday after attending the dinner. It was unclear whether President Biden had taken another test since, though the White House says the he is tested regularly. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday night.
Dr. Biden is in Romania. She visited with troops on Friday and will meet with her Romanian counterpart on Saturday before heading for Bratislava, Slovakia, as part of a trip to show support for Ukrainians displaced in the region by the Russian invasion.
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