Notre Dame president experiencing mild symptoms after testing positive for COVID-19

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WISH) — The University of Notre Dame’s president has tested positive for coronavirus, according to a message sent to the campus community Friday.

President Rev. John I. Jenkins, CSC, has begun an extended period of isolation after learning he tested positive for the virus. The university’s vice president, Paul J. Browne, alerted the campus community of the president’s positive test in an email Friday.

According to the message, Jenkins learned a colleague whom he had been in contact with regularly had tested positive, so he got tested and found he was positive for COVID-19 too.

Jenkins said he is experiencing mild symptoms and will continue to work from home. “The positive test is a good reminder for me and perhaps for all of how vigilant we need to be,” Jenkins said in the message.

Jenkins was at the White House last Saturday when President Donald Trump nominated Notre Dame professor Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. He could be seen shaking hands and sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with people while not wearing a mask.

Jenkins apologized for his actions earlier this week.

Trump on Friday announced he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for the virus and have begun their quarantine and recovery process.