Washington, Oct 19 (IANS): Anthony Fauci, America's top infectious disease expert, said that he was not surprised that US President Donald Trump had tested positive for the novel coronvirus after the September 27 White House ceremony for Supreme Court nominee Judge Amy Coney Barrett.

When asked during a CBS News interview on Sunday on whether he was surprised that Trump got sick was diagnosed with the virus after the event, Fauci replied: "Absolutely not. I was worried that he was going to get sick when I saw him in a completely precarious situation of crowded, no separation between people, and almost nobody wearing a mask.

"When I saw that on TV, I said, 'Oh my goodness. Nothing good can come outta that, that's gotta be a problem'. And then sure enough, it turned out to be a superspreader event."

Fauci's remarks on Sunday came a week after he first termed the ceremony as a "super spreader" event.

After the event, a government memo had claimed that at least "34 White House staffers and other contacts" had tested positive for Covid-19 in recent days.

Besides the President, the others who were infected within his inner circle included First Lady Melania Trump; youngest son Barron Trump; senior aides Hope Hicks and Stephen Miller; White House Press Secretary Kayley McEnany; RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel; Republican Senators Mike Lee and Thom Tilis; former adviser Kellyanne Conway; and Trump campaign director Bill Stepien.