As of early Monday evening, event organizers have contacted “just over a dozen” people who they have identified as having direct contact with the infected attendee, according to Ian Walters, spokesman for the American Conservative Union, which organizes the annual Conservative Political Action Conference.

The ACU’s handling of the case has led to grumbling from some conferencegoers, who have complained of a two-tiered system: VIPs have been notified directly even to be told they did not interact with the infected man, while ordinary rank-and-file attendees have by and large been left to wonder, receiving only vaguer information in mass emails. Meanwhile, critics have noted the irony of prominent officials downplaying the outbreak even as the disease may silently have been spreading among the Trump administration’s own members and supporters…

“At a time like this, communication needs to be fast, up to the minute and precise,” said conservative media personality Raheem Kassam, who has voiced his concerns publicly on Twitter, saying he has fallen ill since attending the conference and struggled to get access to coronavirus testing. Kassam has said on Twitter that the infected person had access to a green room, backstage where speakers waited for their public appearances.