Rally’s risky as bug rages – Okla. chief
Tulsa’s top health official is warning that President Trump’s planned reelection rally could cause a serious health risk as the city grapples to contain a dramatic spike in coronavirus cases.
Brian Dart, head of the local health department, said the rally planned for Saturday is coming at the worst possible time for the Oklahoma city.
“I wish we could postpone this to a time when the virus isn’t as large a concern as it is today,“Dart told the Tulsa World newspaper. “COVID is here in Tulsa, it is transmitting very efficiently.”
The city’s coronavirus caseload has doubled in just a week as business has resumed. Dart said many new cases were linked to a large funeral in which participants failed to observe social-distancing precautions.
Trump is planning to hold his first reelection rally in three months on Saturday at the 19,000-seat BOK Arena in Tulsa.
The president refuses to wear a protective face mask in public and many of his #MAGA supporters follow his lead.
That could lead to a dangerous situation at the rally in which thousands of unprotected people are exposed to coronavirus. The conditions at a packed indoor rally are especially conducive to spreading the virus, especially when people are cheering or yelling without masks, experts say.
Trump and his supporters pooh-pooh the risks and point out that progressives have been filling the streets of the nation’s cities with protests for racial justice without any dramatic spike in the pandemic.
The president accused critics of seeking to “Covid Shame” his supporters to avoid the rally, but warned such liberal tricks would fall flat.
“Won’t work!” he declared on Twitter.
The Trump campaign said it is taking steps to ensure the health of rallygoers is protected, including temperature checks and handing out face masks to those who want to wear them.
All those who attend will have to sign a disclaimer saying they cannot blame Trump or the campaign if they contract coronavirus.