White House COVID coordinator says correspondents’ dinner should proceed

White House coronavirus response coordinator Ashish Jha said on Sunday that the White House Correspondents’ Dinner (WHCD) should go ahead as planned this month, despite the local rise in new COVID-19 cases due to the spread of the BA.2 variant.

Speaking to “Fox News Sunday” anchor Mike Emmanuel, Jha said, “We are at a point in this pandemic, Mike, where I think we can gather safely. That’s the key point.”

“I don’t think events like that need to be cancelled. I think if people put in good safeguards, they can make it substantially safer, make sure people are vaccinated, make sure you have testing, improve ventilation,” added Jha.

“These are the strategies we have learned over the last two years, and if we implement them, do I think it’s safe for people to gather together indoors? Absolutely.”

The White House Correspondents’ Association is set to host its annual dinner on April 30, the first time it has been held since the pandemic began.

However, it comes in the wake of a number of high-profile COVID cases around the Capitol, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Attorney General Merrick Garland, along with dozens of people who attended the Gridiron Dinner two weeks ago.

Last year, the WHCD was cancelled for a second time with the dinner’s executive director, Steven Thomma, saying at the time that pandemic conditions had not improved enough for such a gathering to take place.

White House Correspondents’ Association President Steven Portnoy, of CBS News Radio, affirmed earlier this month that the dinner would be proceeding, with a mandate that guests show a negative COVID-19 test from within 24 hours of the event.

“We are going to, as a baseline level, require every one of the 2,620 ticket holders at our event to demonstrate on Saturday, April 30, that they have tested negative on a same-day rapid test,” Portnoy told The Hill. “We’re taking it upon ourselves as an association to apply this requirement.”

The associated has since added a vaccine mandate for attendees.

Former President Trump, who regularly demonized the media throughout his time in office, notably did not attend the White House correspondents’ dinner once, bucking tradition.

The White House has not yet confirmed whether or not President Biden will attend this year’s dinner, which will be hosted by the Daily Show’s Trevor Noah.