The note, or at least the note as translated through White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham, admits that Trump did encounter at least two people who have since tested positive on his last visit to Mar-a-Lago. However, it describes Trump’s exposure to the first of these as “extremely limited,” even while admitting that contact included a handshake. It then admits that Trump spent “more time” with the second individual, but claims this was before any symptoms had appeared. So, says the note, since Trump himself isn’t showing any symptoms at the moment, he doesn’t need to be tested.

This is not only ridiculous, it’s dangerous. One of the reasons that the earlier SARS outbreak was halted well short of becoming pandemic, was because SARS was visible to tests before symptoms appeared, and even when the first symptoms appeared, the number of viruses shed by infected individuals was low until several days into the illness (It’s worth noting that despite this, a single individual passing through a hospital just a few days after displaying first symptoms managed to infect 23 healthcare workers).

But COVID-19 is less “polite” than SARS. Not only are patients highly contagious from the first moment that symptoms appear, they are contagious before the first symptom. This was not just the observational conclusion expressed in the earlier WHO-China joint report, Science News is now reporting the results of a study indicating that people are ”mainly contagious before they have symptoms and in the first week of the disease.”

Donald Trump wasn’t just exposed to people who have subsequently tested positive for COVID-19, he was exposed to those people when they were at their most contagious. In avoiding testing, Trump is modeling exactly the wrong behavior. And in suggesting that Trump need not worry because the person he was exposed to wasn’t showing symptoms, Trump, the White House, and White House physician Sean Conley, are sending exactly the wrong message.

Anyone who believes that they were exposed to the novel coronavirus needs to be tested, whether or not they are displaying symptoms. It’s precisely that approach that allowed South Korea to genuinely “flatten the curve,” blunt the spread of disease in that country, and maintain the integrity of their health care system.

By sending the signal that only people showing symptoms need to be tested, and only people showing symptoms are contagious, the White House is doubling down on errors that are speeding the nation toward disaster. It’s a signal that is going to get thousands of people killed … if not more.