Two attendees and two staff members working at the Republican National Convention in Charlotte have tested positive for the coronavirus, local health officials said Friday.
Mecklenburg County officials said the four people were isolated and that those they came in contact with had been warned. The health department did not say whether anyone had shown symptoms of the virus.
Charlotte officials had raised their concerns about the lack of social distance measures even at the reduced convention, where only a few hundred Republicans gathered to formally rename President Trump
Donald John The memo: Trump reaches for optimism as weapon against Biden Five cuts to GOP’s groundbreaking convention Trump mocks Democrats in White House speech: ‘We are here and they are not’ MORE and Vice President Pence. On video of the event, a few people showed masks and many posed close together for photos.
But Republicans have taken precautionary measures, with special badges that registered their movement in case contact tracers were needed to warn them of possible infections.
The convention has not yet proven any kind of super-spreader event; Health officials from Mecklenburg said they have conducted 792 coronavirus tests among delegates and staff, with only the four tests positive.
Most of the events leading up to the four-night GOP conference broadcast took place in Washington, DC It culminated in an address Thursday night by President Trump to a crowd on the White House lawn. Few in the crowd wore masks, and people sat or stood close together.
Mecklenburg County has been hit hard by the coronavirus, which has infected nearly 25,000 residents. But average counts of cases have fallen in recent weeks, from a peak of more than 300 cases in early July to a little over 100 newly confirmed cases every day.
Social officials said the vast majority of cases, about three-quarters, are confirmed in people under the age of 60. Hispanics, and especially young Hispanic adults, are disproportionately likely to contract the virus, the health department said.
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