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Mar-a-Lago partially closes after COVID-19 outbreak

Former President Donald Trump has been living at club since leaving White House
Moving truck parked outside Mar-a-Lago Club, Jan. 18, 2021
Posted at 5:31 PM, Mar 19, 2021
and last updated 2021-03-19 20:23:05-04

PALM BEACH, Fla. — Former President Donald Trump's Palm Beach club has been partially closed because of a COVID-19 outbreak.

That's according to several people familiar with the situation, including a club member who received a phone call about the closure Friday.

A receptionist at the Mar-a-Lago Club confirmed the news, saying it was closed until further notice, but declined to comment further.

Trump moved to Mar-a-Lago in January after leaving the White House.

President Donald Trump superimposed over Mar-a-Lago Club, January 2021
Former President Donald Trump has been living at his Mar-a-Lago Club since leaving the White House, but will he be allowed to stay?

That was the same month Palm Beach County sent a warning letter to Mar-a-Lago after video widely shared on social media showed a mostly maskless crowd partying on the dance floor during a New Year's Eve celebration.

Donald Trump Jr. shared a public video on his Facebook page that showed him and a mostly maskless crowd crammed together near the stage, where Wellington rapper Vanilla Ice was performing his 1989 hit song "Ice Ice Baby" and a cover of Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music."

There has been plenty of debate surrounding whether the former president should be allowed to live at Mar-a-Lago. A 1993 declaration between Trump, Mar-a-Lago and Palm Beach prohibits guests from living on the property, but the town attorney noted earlier this year that an exemption is in place for employees.

A person familiar with club operations said that, out of an abundance of caution, the club had partially closed a section "for a short period of time" and quarantined some of its workers.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the situation by name.