Ivanka, husband jump lockdown norms, travel to New Jersey for Jewish holidays

Even though the United States is under lockdown in view of an exponential rise in coronavirus cases, President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner defied social distancing norms, and travelled with their children to New Jersey earlier this month for Passover celebrations.

The news that was broken by New York Times said the couple left their home in Washington DC, to visit one of the Trump family’s golf resorts in Bedminster, New Jersey, to mark the Jewish holiday, which began on April 8 and ended on Thursday (April 16).

The White House, confirming the NYT story, said the trip did not involve any more outside contact than if Trump and Kushner had stayed put.

“Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner – with their immediate family – celebrated Passover at a closed down facility considered to be a family home. Her travel was no different than if had she been traveling to/from work and the location was less populated than the surrounding area near her home in D.C,” AFP quoted White House officials as saying.

“While at Bedminster she has been practicing social distancing and working remotely. Her travel was not commercial. She chose to spend a holiday in private with her family,” the statement said.

Washington, DC, has a “stay-at-home” order, meaning that people should avoid non-essential travel.

According to a tally by Johns Hopkins University, the toll as of 8:30 pm (0030 GMT Friday) marked an increase of 4,491 deaths in the past 24 hours, by far the highest daily toll in the pandemic so far. The confirmed death toll in the United States has reached 32,917.