Health experts condemn Trump’s rejection of virus rules

With the Washington Monument in the background, a crowd on the South Lawn of the White House watches the Republican National Convention as it plays on a screen on the fourth day of the convention, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo / Alex Brandon)

WASHINGTON – Public health experts expressed concern Friday about the largely unmasked and socially undisturbed Republican convention event from President Donald Trump on the White House lawn, saying some of his 1,500 guests may have brought and inadvertently spread the coronavirus to others.

“There were almost certainly people who were infected with COVID-19 but didn’t know it,” said Dr. Leana Wen, an emergency physician and professor of public health at George Washington University.

“I am concerned that these people will infect each other and will certainly go home,” said Wen, who previously served as Baltimore’s health commissioner.

Trump delivered his speech accepting the Republican presidential nomination at Thursday night’s event, which continued a pattern of mockery of coronavirus safety guidelines.

Few in the audience wore masks when virtually all leading public health professionals, including those in the administration, say that covering their faces plays a significant role in slowing transmission of the virus.

The chairs were placed inches apart instead of the recommended 6 feet, leaving attendees little room to practice social distancing.

Only those guests whom the White House expected were “very close” to Trump and Vice President Mike Pence were required to be tested for COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus.

Although public health officials have said that the outdoors is safer than indoors, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also puts the risk of spreading COVID-19 at its highest at large outdoor events. and in-person meetings where people can’t stay 6 feet apart and attendees come. from out of town.

The Trump campaign issued a statement from Dr. Robert Darling, medical director of Patronus Medical Corp., who said that the Republican National Committee protocols are in “full compliance” with multiple guidelines issued by the CDC, the District’s health department. Columbia and other leading health authorities. He did not provide details.

The campaign said Darling, a former White House physician to President Bill Clinton, has been working with the RNC to make sure proper protocols are in place at convention venues.

In Charlotte, North Carolina, where delegates met Monday to nominate Trump for re-election, the city required that a process be put in place to track people’s contacts in the event of an outbreak, including a requirement that they attendees wear trackers on their laces.

Masks and social distancing requirements were also implemented, and attendees were asked to complete a daily temperature and wellness questionnaire. They were tested before leaving for Charlotte and again upon arrival.

Of the nearly 800 coronavirus tests administered, two attendees and two people who supported the Charlotte event tested positive upon arrival, the county health department said. The four individuals were ordered to isolate themselves, and any known close contacts were notified and instructions on quarantine, the department said.

Public health officials also raised concerns about a march in Washington on Friday to commemorate the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The size of the event had been reduced due to concerns about the coronavirus.

The participants underwent temperature checks as part of the coronavirus protocols. Organizers also reminded protesters to practice social distancing and wear masks, although many were naked and packed together.

Before a Trump rally on Friday night in New Hampshire, a campaign ad said masks for attendees were “required” in accordance with Republican Gov. Chris Sununu’s executive orders, and would be provided.

Before Trump’s arrival, many in the crowd did not put their masks back on after singing the national anthem. They were later booed when a campaign staff member asked them to do so.

Wen, the former Baltimore health official, said the White House event gives the public the false impression that precautions are no longer necessary.
“We, in public health, have been trying to share, give guidance on what to do, and when we have the president of the country and the main leaders doing exactly what we ask people not to do, how can we be seen? ? so credible? ” she asked.

On Friday, North Carolina Senator Thom Tillis said he “did not meet my own standard” and apologized for not keeping his mask in the White House.

Tillis, who is in a tough bid for re-election against Democrat Cal Cunningham, has been consistent in speaking of face coverings as a key method of slowing the spread of COVID-19.

The Tillis campaign tweeted a photo 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 during the speech and Tillis was seen without his mask.

“I thought it was very difficult not to back down from those images,” said Dr. Howard Koh, a professor of public health at Harvard and former assistant secretary of President Barack Obama’s Department of Health and Human Services.

Koh said a mitigating factor was that Trump held the event outdoors.

He said wearing face coverings during outbreaks is an expected behavior in some 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 moving during protests could help slow the spread of the virus.

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