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Four people who attended the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, the United States, tested positive for the coronavirus, said health officials in North Carolina’s Mecklenburg County.
WBTV reported Friday that those who tested positive in the event were immediately isolated.
Chris Carlson / AP
US President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence raise their thumbs after speaking on the first day of the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, NC
Nearly 800 people who attended or helped support the event were tested, the county said in a news release.
Two attendees and two supporters of the convention tested positive.
County leaders said in a statement that those individuals “received immediate isolation instructions and any known close contacts were notified and quarantine instructions issued by Mecklenburg County Public Health.”
The RNC said that attendees did not attend any events before receiving their results.
Michael Ahrens, communications director for the RNC, said in a statement that the four people who tested positive “were sent home.”
“We have diligent security protocols in place, including testing all attendees before arriving in Charlotte and again upon arrival,” Ahrens said.
“Out of approximately 1,000 tests administered, two RNC attendees, despite having negative tests prior to the trip, and two Charlotte residents who planned to serve as event support personnel tested positive upon arrival.”
The Charlotte Observer reports that the positive test disclosures come after county health officials raised concerns about the lack of social distancing and the wearing of masks at an RNC business meeting Monday in Charlotte. Strict coronavirus protocols were supposed to be followed.
The public may need to wait weeks for an “after action” report detailing the true extent of the convention-related infections.
But Mecklenburg Public Health Director Gibbie Harris has said the convention poses no risk of infection to the Charlotte metropolitan area.
