The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
CDC has new guidance for mass gatherings
WASHINGTON — As protests continue around the country, the Trump campaign resumes rallies and massive political conventions loom on the horizon, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance Friday urging mask wearing by participants and organizers at mass gatherings to avoid contracting coronavirus.
The CDC “strongly encourages” face coverings in settings where “individuals might raise their voice” for chanting, shouting and singing.
On a call with the media, Jay C. Butler, the CDC’s Deputy Director of Infectious Diseases and COVID-19 Response Incident Manager, declined to say whether rallies are safe to participate in.
“The guidelines are really for any type of gathering, whether they are the backyard barbeque or something larger and it is not intended to endorse any type of event,” he said. “They are not regulations. They are not commands. They are recommendations.”
The CDC ranked the types of events by the risk of transmission, with the lowest risk at a virtual event and the highest risks at "large in-person gatherings where it is difficult for individuals to remain spaced at least 6 feet apart and attendees travel from outside the local area."
Thousands of people have joined in protests and demonstrations around Connecticut against racism and police brutality following the death of black man George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis Police on May 25.
Some protesters wear masks and some do not. Volunteers at some events give out masks and hand sanitizer. Huge masses of people have sometimes made social distancing impossible.
J.R. Romano, chairman of the state Republican Party, expressed concerns Friday that protesters were not taking appropriate health precautions, noting that protestors who demonstrated in favor of reopening Connecticut in April did so mostly in cars. At one major Reopen Connecticut protest, few people wore masks, but most stayed in their vehicles for the parade-style rally.
Romano said he supported people’s right to protest in both cases, but felt Democrats unfairly accused the reopening protesters of posing a health threat to their communities with their actions and their message.
Reached by phone on his way to a Black Lives Matter protest in West Hartford on Friday afternoon, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, DConn., acknowledged the health risks of recent mass demonstrations but said he felt organizers were taking precautions to minimize them.
“People have tried to engage in social or physical distancing and they encouraged participants to wear masks,” Blumenthal said, noting he’s attended at least eight Connecticut protests. “I have tried very earnestly and honestly to keep my distance . ... I have felt relatively safe at all of them.”
He said the most “problematic” challenge at the demonstrations was when marching forced people closer together.
Many members of the Connecticut congressional delegation have elected to attend recent protests.
The director of the CDC, Robert Redfield, said during a House Appropriations hearing on last week that anyone who participated should "highly consider" getting tested. He also warned lawmakers that the protests could be a "seeding event" for more viral outbreaks.
More mass gatherings will be taking place as President Donald Trump resumes his political rallies next week. Trump’s first election rally will be an indoor gathering on Juneteenth, June 15, the anniversary of the end of slavery, in Tulsa, Okla., the scene of one of the worst massacres of black Americans in 1921.
Attendees of the rally must sign a waiver agreeing not to sue the Trump campaign if they get COVID-19.
After Trump battled with the Democraic governor of North Carolina over imposing social distancing requirements and crowd limits on the Republican National Convention, Republicans moved the main event of the convention — an acceptance speech by Trump — from Charlotte to Jacksonville, Fla., on Thursday.
The convention will take place Aug. 24-27. It is generally a 50,000-person event and the Republican National Committee is still sorting out many details of how to pull it off during a pandemic.
The convention will be attended by 125 Republican delegates and guests from Connecticut, but it’s unclear if most people will attend one or both events, Romano said. About 400 people have told the state Republican party they want to go to the convention, Romano said.
“It was more than 2016,” he said.
Democrats also have an August national convention planned, after moving the event from July. The Democratic National Convention will take place in Milwaukee from Aug 17-20, although the scale and scope of the event is uncertain. Former Vice President Joe Biden intends to accept Democrats’ nomination in
Milwaukee, his campaign announced Friday.
“Connecticut Democrats will have 75 delegates and five alternates to the national convention, to be chosen in early August,” said Nancy DiNardo, chairwoman of the Connecticut Democratic Party. “The COVID-19related health issues are certainly a concern for everyone, with some potential delegates saying they may not want to travel and would prefer an in-state virtual option. That said, we all understand that we are in uncharted territory and we are waiting to see what the Democratic National Committee is planning.”
emilie.munson@hearstdc.com; Twitter: @emiliemunson