Notre Dame University president Rev. John Jenkins, 66, ends his quarantine and says he is 'symptom-free' 10 days after he tested positive for COVID following the Rose Garden 'super-spreader' ceremony

Notre Dame University president Rev. John Jenkins has ended his quarantine, 10 days after it was announced he tested positive for COVID-19 after attending the White House 'super-spreader' event without wearing a mask. 

Jenkins, 66, 'is symptom-free and looks forward to resuming his normal activities', the university announced Monday evening. 

The university had announced he tested positive for COVID-19 on October 2 after he found out a colleague who he has regular contact with contracted the virus.

On September 26 he attended the Rose Garden ceremony for Amy Coney Barrett, a judge and Notre Dame law professor who is President Donald Trump's nominee for U.S. Supreme Court justice, and began his self-isolation period two days afterwards. 

Monday marks 10 days since his COVID-19 diagnosis was announced and two weeks since his self-isolation period.

Notre Dame University president Rev. John Jenkins, 66, ended his COVID-19 quarantine on Monday, 10 days after his COVID-19 diagnosis was publicly announced. He tested positive for COVID-19 less than a week after attending the White House Rose Garden ceremony for judge Amy Coney Barrett on September 26

Notre Dame President Fr. John Jenkins pictured in a tightly packed, largely mask-free reception in the White House's Rose Garden on September 26. Other attendees pictured here who later tested positive include First Lady Melania Trump and presidential advisor Kellyanne Conway

Jenkins 'is symptom-free and looks forward to resuming his normal activities' the Catholic university in South Bend, Indiana said in a statement

'In accord with medical advice and health protocols, University of Notre Dame President Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., today ended the period of quarantine and isolation that he began on Sept. 28,' university spokesperson Paul J. Browne said in a statement Monday.

'Father Jenkins again thanked the many people who offered prayers and well wishes for him over the last two weeks,' he added.

During his quarantine, Jenkins reported that he experienced mild symptoms but continued to work from home.

Dr. Mark Fox, deputy health officer for St. Joseph County, said Jenkins 'effectively quarantined himself' after returning to South Bend from Washington D.C.

At that point, however, health officials were not aware that the university president had any high-risk exposures.

'Because of the publicity, and not being in a mask, he chose to quarantine himself,' Fox said. 

'He didn't go into the office, and he worked remotely. He was tested later in the week, according to the university protocol, and that's when he was identified as positive and contact tracing began,' he said.

Jenkins has since apologized for attending the event and not wearing a mask. In a September 28 letter to the Notre Dame campus he wrote that he 'regret my error of judgment in not wearing a mask during the ceremony and by shaking hands with a number of people in the Rose Garden.' Pictured circled behind former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who also tested positive for the virus after the September 26 ceremony

Many attendees of the Rose Garden ceremony for Judge Amy Coney Barrett, including Fr. Jenkins , retreated indoors to the Diplomatic Reception Room. Jenkins was photographed without a mask indoors. He tested positive for COVID less than a week later

Several Notre Dame law faculty and administrators joined Jenkins at the White House, though Fox said the county health department has 'no indication' that any of those individuals have tested positive for COVID-19 since returning to South Bend.

The university president has faced calls to resign by students and faculty at the Catholic university who were upset with his apparent hypocrisy in attending the event and ignoring coroanvirus precautions.

At the White House event Jenkins was seen shaking peoples hands, not wearing a mask and sitting shoulder-to-shoulder with others. 

More than 200 students signed a petition calling for Jenkins' resignation. The Notre Dame student senate voted it down on October 1.

The university president has faced calls to resign by students and faculty at the Catholic university who were upset with his apparent hypocrisy in attending the event and ignoring coroanvirus precautions

'I do recognize that having a professor and alumna nominated to the highest court in the United States is a really big honor, but there's completely a double standard,' Notre Dame student Ashton Weber, 20, told the New York Times.

'Students have been dismissed for this type of thing,' said Weber, an economics major. 

Notre Dame opened August 10 with face-to-face instruction, which Jenkins framed as a 'moral' decision.

'We will institute extensive protocols for testing; contact tracing and quarantining; and preventive measures, such as hand-washing, physical distancing and, in certain settings, the wearing of masks. This is how we can restore in-person classes safely.'

However, the school saw a spike in COVID-19 cases as soon as classes started.

Notre Dame, which has about 12,000 students, paused in-person classes August 18 and moved them online amid a surge that saw as many as 89 new cases a day. In-person classes resumed weeks later after a sharp decrease in infections. 

As of Tuesday there have been 819 positive cases at the school with five new cases reported Tuesday. There have been 728 infections among undergraduates, 54 among graduate students and 37 among employees. 

Of that total, the school estimated 29 active cases. 

During his quarantine, Jenkins reported that he experienced mild symptoms but continued to work from home

As of Tuesday there have been 819 positive cases at Notre Dame University with five new cases reported Tuesday. There have been 728 infections among undergraduates, 54 among graduate students and 37 among employees. Of that total, the school estimated 29 active cases

The day that Jenkins made his trip to Washington along with at least 10 other faculty, at Notre Dame strict rules were in effect for students. 

Students were mandated to wear masks everywhere on campus except their own dorm rooms, even outdoors. Gatherings of more than 10 people outdoors were forbidden. Students, both on campus and off, were forbidden from socializing indoors with anyone they didn't live with. 

Jenkins has since apologized, writing in a September 28 letter to the Notre Dame campus that he 'regret my error of judgment in not wearing a mask during the ceremony and by shaking hands with a number of people in the Rose Garden.

He continued: 'I failed to lead by example, at a time when I´ve asked everyone else in the Notre Dame community to do so.'

Visitors at the Rose Garden event underwent a rapid nasal-swab test for coronavirus. After receiving a negative result, they could proceed to the Rose Garden. Hundreds gathered, seated close together and mostly unmasked. 

Of the more than 200 people who attended Barrett’s ceremony at least 11 people have tested positive including Jenkins, President Donald Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Sen. Mike Lee and Sen. Thom Tillis.