A top health official in Oklahoma wants President Trump to push back his rally indefinitely over concerns that it could increase the number of coronavirus cases.
Tulsa City-County Health Department Director Bruce Dart told Tulsa World on Saturday that the city is experiencing a “significant increase in our case trends” that could be hazardous to rally attendees and the president.
“I think it’s an honor for Tulsa to have a sitting president want to come and visit our community, but not during a pandemic,” he said. “I’m concerned about our ability to protect anyone who attends a large, indoor event, and I’m also concerned about our ability to ensure the president stays safe as well.”
State officials reported 225 new cases on Saturday.
“COVID is here in Tulsa, it is transmitting very efficiently,” Dart said. “I wish we could postpone this to a time when the virus isn’t as large a concern as it is today.”
“A large indoor rally with 19-20,000 people is a huge risk factor today in Tulsa, Oklahoma,” he added.
Trump’s rally was originally scheduled for Juneteenth, which marks the end of slavery in the United States. Under pressure, he pushed his first rally since the coronavirus shutdown from Friday to Saturday. His campaign manager Brad Parscale said Sunday that more than 800,000 had requested tickets for the event. However, the stadium holds just over 19,000 people.
Just passed 800,000 tickets. Biggest data haul and rally signup of all time by 10x.
Saturday is going to be amazing! https://t.co/u2tQ812odW
— Brad Parscale (@parscale) June 14, 2020
When requesting tickets, attendees had to agree not to sue the campaign if they contract the coronavirus at the event. The registration page did not mention any safety precautions, such as social distancing or the requirement for attendees to wear masks.
Larry Kudlow, the White House economic adviser, said Sunday that attendees should “probably” wear a face mask at the rally.
