Top Tulsa officials on Wednesday said at-risk people should not attend President Donald Trump's Saturday rally there as the city set a daily record for most new COVID-19 cases.
Speaking to reporters, Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum, a Republican, said it was a "tremendous honor" that the president would select their city to hold his first rally since the onset of the pandemic, but said he could not make assurances that it would not lead to rapid transmission of the coronavirus.
"I'm not positive that everything is safe," Bynum said, adding that he "completely" understands "the concern people have" if rallygoers are not cautious.
But Bynum said the "far greater" risk for spreading the virus is not the rally or any protests but a general sense that it's OK to relax the precautions individuals are taking with regards to the novel coronavirus.
Senator encourages masks at upcoming Trump rally
June 17, 202008:06Tulsa officials said the estimated about 100,000 people will descend on their city for the rally.
"Any rational person looking at any large grouping of people would have concerns about this weekend," Bynum said, adding that concern is shared for "any large gathering."
Bynum said he would greet the president upon his arrival and would then spend Saturday with Tulsa police rather than take part in the rally.
Dr. Bruce Dart, director of the Tulsa City/County Health Department, said a record 96 Tulsa County residents had tested positive for the virus over the past day, a new record, adding that there are currently 585 active cases in Tulsa County.
Dart added that the county began to see a marked increase in cases beginning early last week and that they have seen a significant increase in hospitalizations since June 6.
"Let me be clear, anyone planning to attend a large scale gathering will face an increased risk of contracting COVID-19," Dart said, adding that if a person is part of a vulnerable population or has recently been exposed to someone with COVID-19, they should stay home.
Dart said it was his personal recommendation to delay the rally be postponed until it is safer.
"If we could push it back until when it's safer," he said, "that's what I'd like to see happen."
Officials were appreciative of the measures the Trump campaign said it was taking in advance of the rally and encouraged attendees to take precautions like wearing masks and washing hands with soap and water. The Trump campaign has said that each attendee will be subjected to a temperature check and offered hand sanitizer and a mask, though one is not necessarily required.
The Trump campaign has required attendees to sign away their ability to sue the campaign should they contract the virus at the event, for which Trump has claimed more than 1 million people have requested tickets.
Earlier Wednesday, an Oklahoma state court judge rejected a lawsuit aimed at mandating coronavirus precautions at the Trump rally scheduled for Tulsa on Saturday. Lawyers for those plaintiffs then filed a motion asking the state Supreme Court to order the lower court to grant their request. The plaintiffs, who want an emergency hearing by Friday, seek an order directing the BOK Arena in Tulsa, the 19,000 seat venue set to hold Trump's rally, to impose social distancing and require mask-wearing.
The plaintiffs include the Greenwood Centre, which owns 60,000 square feet of storefront and office space in downtown Tulsa; a group that organizes events in observation of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre; and two people who have compromised immune systems.
"Tulsa is experiencing double the amount of new cases it experienced in March and April when restrictions on large gatherings and businesses were still in place." the suit said, adding, "It would take only a few infected individuals — who are likely asymptomatic and have no idea that they are infected — to infect hundreds if not thousands more."
In a Wednesday message to supporters, the Trump campaign said "radical Democrats" were suing to stop the rally.
"The Liberals have ALWAYS been trying to take me down, and more importantly, they’ve been trying to take YOU down," the email said. "They hate me. They hate you. They hate rallies and it’s all because they hate the idea of MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"
Dr. Lance Frye, the commissioner of the Oklahoma State Department of Health, said in a Wednesday statement that health officials appreciated the president's campaign taking measures to make the event safer, adding that "individuals looking to attend Saturday’s event, or any other large-scale gathering, will face an increased risk of becoming infected with COVID-19 and becoming a transmitter of this novel virus."
In a Facebook post Tuesday, Bynum said he would not attempt to block the event by invoking emergency authority.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican, will meet with Trump Thursday at the White House to discuss reopening the state.
Tweeting earlier this week, Trump wrote that people are "trying to Covid Shame us on our big Rallies."
"Won't work!" he added.
Speaking at a White House roundtable on senior citizens Monday, Trump said he expects "a record-setting crowd" and that the rally "certainly won't" have an empty seat "in Oklahoma."
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said during Wednesday's press briefing that the campaign is taking measures to "make sure this is a safe rally" and ultimately it's a "personal choice to individuals as to what to do."
Assuming risk is "part of life," she said, adding, "It’s the personal decision of Americans whether to go to the rally.”
Speaking with The Daily Beast, Dr. Anthony Fauci said he would not personally attend any upcoming rallies because he's in a high-risk category. Fauci added that, for such an event, "outside is better than inside, no crowd is better than crowd" and "crowd is better than big crowd."
