Guests watch as President Trump introduces Judge Amy Coney Barrett as his nominee to the Supreme Court in the Rose Garden at the White House on September 26. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The event is at least a stark example of what not to do during a pandemic.

As the cluster of coronavirus cases linked to the White House and Washington Republicans grows — there have been 12 reported so far, by Vox’s count — and it becomes increasingly apparent that most of the people with confirmed infections attended a recent White House reception for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, it’s reasonable to ask: Was this a superspreading event, meaning one where a lot of people get infected at the same time, by a common source?

It is difficult to say for sure, but that reception is a vivid example of what not