WASHINGTON - The Washington news media's big annual dinner last Saturday appears to be connected to an outbreak of positive coronavirus tests, validating concerns that guests at the event attended by President Joe Biden might spread the virus. 

Reports of positive cases for those who were at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner or its many related pre- and post-parties have appeared on social media since Tuesday morning.

Among those testing positive: ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl, ABC News President Kim Godwin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken. The State Department said Blinken, who is vaccinated, is experiencing mild symptoms and quarantining at home.

Karl sat next to reality-show starlet Kim Kardashian and her boyfriend, "Saturday Night Live" cast member Pete Davidson, during the dinner. He also shook hands with Biden, who limited his time in the subterranean ballroom to about an hour. Karl declined comment.

Employees of CNN, NBC News, CBS News, Politico, Voice of America, Puck News and The Washington Post also tested positive, according to social-media posts, texts, emails and news accounts. Among the journalists who've publicly acknowledged a positive test is Jada Yuan, who covered the dinner for The Post.

The White House Correspondents' Association, which organized the annual dinner at the Washington Hilton, doesn't keep a roster of guests and has no official tally of the number of positive tests. The association sells tables to news organizations, which then distribute invitations to employees, their spouses, advertisers and others.

The early indication, however, is that the dinner attended by 2,600 people may well be what the evening's performer, comedian Trevor Noah, joked would be "the world's most distinguished superspreader event." During his performance on Saturday, he mock-lectured the mostly maskless crowd, "Did none of you learn anything from the Gridiron dinner?" - referring to another elite Washington dinner, held April 3, after which 85 of 630 guests tested positive.

WHCA president Steven Portnoy said the group required guests to submit a negative coronavirus test and their vaccination records. In addition, anyone who was likely to come in contact with the president, such as Karl, took a "medically proctored" test beforehand.

"We worked hard to publicize our protocols and to encourage those eligible to get booster shots in the weeks leading up to the dinner," Portnoy said in a statement. "Our event implemented protocols that went by every guideline or regulation issued by the [Centers for Disease Control] and the D.C. Health Department."

As of Tuesday afternoon, Portnoy said in an interview that he was aware of "a small number of cases, in the single digits."

But that number was likely to grow rapidly as people experience symptoms and take tests. Researchers recommend that vaccinated people wait three to five days after a suspected exposure to take a test, as earlier testing tends to be less accurate. Positive results can turn up almost a week after an exposure.

The correspondents dinner was preceded and followed by a series of crowded parties sponsored by media organizations. These were held in restaurants, embassies, offices and other event spaces around Washington. It's possible that some guests at the dinner were already carrying infections that did not yet register on the same-day tests they took.

The nation's top infectious-disease doctor, Anthony Fauci, was originally planning to attend the dinner but opted against it several days earlier, citing concerns about his personal health risk for catching the virus.