Trump rally expected to cause major COVID-19 spike
Earlier this month President Donald Trump falsely described the US economy as “a rocket ship” that was roaring back as COVID-19 preventive measures continue to be relaxed across the country.
However, it is not the economy but the disease itself that is making a resurgence, and this is particularly true in Tulsa county.
This past week Tulsa county saw its sharpest increase in cases of COVID-19 since the deadly disease became reached pandemic status, and as of Tuesday June 16 had the most cases of any county in Oklahoma. Six out of the past seven days had record coronavirus jumps in Tulsa county.
With this rise in cases as a backdrop, Trump has chosen Tulsa to kick off his latest round of campaign rallies. A massive rally is scheduled for Saturday, June 20 at the BOK Center, which the Trump campaign promises will be full to capacity.
“We’ve never had an empty seat,” Trump said, “and we certainly won’t in Oklahoma.”
And while it demonstrably untrue that Trump rallies have never had empty seats, his prediction in deep red Oklahoma may well prove accurate.
“We are anticipating a very full rally,” Erin Perrine of the Trump campaign said in an interview with NPR.
“We’ve received over one million ticket requests.”
It’s true that many of these requests were made by those who oppose Trump and are hoping to embarrass the president by keeping seats from his supporters, but given that there will be a four hour period between when the BOK opens its doors this Saturday and when the rally begins, filling any open seats should not be difficult.
Health officials from Tulsa City-county Health Department director Dr. Bruce Dart to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading epidemiologist and a member of Trump’s own coronavirus task force, have warned of the dangers of such a large indoor rally at a time when COVID-19 is spiking in the area.
“COVID is here in Tulsa, it is transmitting very efficiently,” Dart told the Tulsa World this past weekend. “I wish we could postpone this to a time when the virus isn’t as large a concern as it is today.”
Fauci said in no uncertain terms that the upcoming Tulsa rally is very risky.
“When you are in a large crowd, if you have the congregation of people that are much, much close to each other, you definitely increase the risk that you will either acquire or spread infections,” Fauci said this week. “And I’ve said there are some people that are going to do that anyway, no matter what I say. But the issue is, if they do, please wear a mask all the time, because a mask will give you some protection. The best thing to do is to avoid crowded areas, but if you’re not going to do that, please wear a mask.”
The Trump campaign said it will be checking attendees’ temperatures and handing out hand sanitizer and masks to those who want them, but wearing masks at the event will not be required and the president has never worn a mask at public gatherings. Those who attend are required to agree not to hold the campaign liable if they contract COVID-19 at the rally.
Many in Tulsa hoped Mayor G.T. Bynum would intervene and issue an order blocking the event, but with Governor Kevin Stitt, an ardent Trump supporter, cheerleading the rally and dismissing the importance of masks, Bynum’s options short of all-out war with his own political party are limited.
What has health care officials and front line workers most concerned is that the resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the wake of Memorial Day celebrations and an unwillingness of many local residents to continue even cursory social distancing will pale in comparison to what is anticipated to happen in the days and weeks following the ill-advised rally. (La Semana)