Six Trump rally staff contract COVID-19
Washington: Six staff members helping set up for US President Donald Trump's rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, have tested positive for coronavirus.
The Trump campaign said "quarantine procedures" were immediately initiated and no staff member who tested positive would attend the event.
People gather as they make their way toward BOK Centre in downtown Tulsa ahead of President Donald Trump's planned rally.Credit:Tulsa World via AP
Campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh said no one who had immediate contact with those staffers would attend either.
Murtaugh said campaign staff members are tested for COVID-19 as part of safety protocols.
Campaign officials say everyone who is attending Saturday night's rally will be given temperature checks before they pass through security.
They will also be given masks to wear, if they want, and hand sanitiser at the 19,000-seat venue.
Tens of thousands of people are converging on Tulsa for the rally, which is expected to be the largest indoor gathering in the world during the pandemic.
Tulsa has seen cases of COVID-19 spike in the past week, and the local health department director asked that the rally be postponed.
But Republican Governor Kevin Stitt said it would be safe.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court on Friday denied a request that everyone attending the indoor rally wear a mask, and few in the crowd waiting outside were wearing them.
A trooper stands outside the BOK Centre where the rally will be held.Credit:AP
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health associate professor Justin Lessler said there was no question that indoor events are more risky than outdoor ones.
"But we don't really know how big that difference is. And certainly other aspects, like how tightly packed things are ... will make a big difference," he said.
The Trump campaign acknowledged the risk in a waiver it asked attendees to sign that absolves them of any responsibility if someone should get sick.
AP