Trump's ambassador to South Africa was at Mar-a-Lago dinner with infected Brazilian

The U.S. ambassador to South Africa attended a dinner at President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club with Brazilian officials who later tested positive for the novel coronavirus. But she told her State Department employees that she did not consider herself at risk because the dinner was outside and she believed the virus could not withstand the Florida heat, people familiar with the matter said Friday.

Ambassador Lana Marks made the claim during a “town hall” meeting for hundreds of staff members at U.S. diplomatic facilities in South Africa on Thursday, which was held following several days of concern among staff members who knew of her exposure. Details of the session were provided to The Washington Post afterward by people familiar with the ambassador’s remarks.

Employees voiced concerns during the meeting about Marks’s failure to self-quarantine or take other protective measures.

The people provided descriptions of the meeting and Marks’s actions on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly. The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.



https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trumps-ambassador-to-south-africa-was-at-mar-a-lago-dinner-with-infected-brazilian/2020/03/20/d4b7846e-6acf-11ea-abef-020f086a3fab_story.html