Health specialists decry Trump's shunning of virus rules
29 August, 2020
Public health authorities expressed concern Friday about President Donald Trump's largely mask-free, socially un-distanced Republican convention event on the White House lawn, saying some of his 1,500 guests may have inadvertently brought and spread the coronavirus to others.
“There probably were individuals there who were infected with COVID-19 but have no idea it,” said Dr Leana Wen, a crisis physician and public health professor at George Washington University..
“I worry about they infecting one another & most certainly going back with their home,” said Wen, who previously served as Baltimore’s health commissioner.
Trump delivered his speech accepting the GOP presidential nomination at the Thursday night event, which continued a pattern of flouting coronavirus safety guidelines.
Few in the audience wore masks when almost all leading public health professionals, like the administration's, say face coverings play a big part in slowing virus transmission.
Chairs were positioned inches apart rather than the recommended 6 feet, leaving attendees little room to apply social distancing.
Only those guests the White House likely to be in “close proximity” to Trump and Vice President Mike Pence were to be tested for COVID-19, the condition due to the virus.
Though public health officials have said outdoors is safer than indoors, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also puts the chance of COVID-19 spreading at its highest most importantly outdoor events and in-person gatherings where persons cannot stay 6 feet apart and attendees come from out of town.
Trump's campaign issued a statement from Dr. Robert Darling, chief medical officer of Patronus Medical Corp., who said the Republican National Committee's protocols are in “full compliance” with multiple guidelines issued by the CDC, the District of Columbia health department and other leading health authorities. He provided no details.
The campaign said Darling, a former White House physician to President Bill Clinton, has been working with the RNC to make certain the correct protocols are set up at convention sites.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, where delegates met Monday to nominate Trump for reelection, the location required an activity to be placed in location to trace people's contacts in the event of an outbreak, including requiring attendees to wear trackers on the lanyards.
Masks and social distancing requirements were also set up, and attendees were necessary to complete a daily temperature screening and wellness questionnaire. These were tested before departing for Charlotte and retested upon arrival.
Out of nearly 800 coronavirus tests administered, two attendees and two people supporting the Charlotte event tested positive after they arrived, the county health department said. The four individuals were instructed to isolate, and any known close contacts were notified and given instructions on quarantining, the department said.
Public health officials also expressed concern over a march in Washington on Friday to commemorate the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The size of the event have been scaled back because of coronavirus concerns.
Participants underwent temperature checks within coronavirus protocols. Organizers also reminded the marchers to apply social distancing and wear masks, though many were bare-faced and packed together.
Before a Trump rally Friday night in New Hampshire, a campaign advisory said masks for attendees were “required” relative to Republican Gov Chris Sununu’s executive orders, and would be provided.
Before Trump arrived, many in the crowd didn't put their masks back on after singing the national anthem. They later booed when a campaign staffer called on them to do so.
Wen, the former Baltimore health official, said the White House event provides public the misconception that precautions are no more necessary.
“We, in public areas health, have been trying to share, to place out guidance on how to proceed, and when we've the president of the united states and top leaders doing exactly what we are asking persons not to do, how do we be seen as credible?” she asked.
On Friday, NEW YORK Sen Thom Tillis said he “fell short of my own standard” and apologized for not keeping his face mask on at the White House.
Tillis, who's in a tough reelection bid against Democrat Cal Cunningham, has been regular about talking up face coverings as an integral solution to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Tillis’ campaign tweeted an image of the first-term senator wearing a mask on the White House lawn on Thursday before Trump’s speech. But other media outlets later showed images of the crowd through the speech and Tillis was seen not wearing his mask.
“I thought it was very hard never to recoil at those images,” said Dr Howard Koh, a public health professor at Harvard and a former assistant secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services under President Barack Obama.
Koh said one mitigating factor was that Trump held the function outdoors.
He said wearing facial coverings during outbreaks is expected behavior in a few Asian societies and social distancing, wearing masks and avoiding large crowds are new social norms that can save lives in the United States as well.
Koh said the same guidance applies to protests, but that active during demonstrations might help curb the spread of the virus.
Source: japantoday.com
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