A party spokesman said the individuals tested positive on arrival at the convention and were sent home immediately. A total of 792 Covid-19 tests were given to people who attended or supported the convention in Charlotte, the county said.
The city was originally supposed to host the entire Republican convention, but coronavirus-related limited activity there for a large part of party business earlier this week instead of speeches, and much of the event was remote or held in Washington, DC.
“These individuals were immediately issued isolation instructions and all known close contacts were notified and quarantine instructions issued by Mecklenburg County Public Health,” the county said.
Many Republicans, most notably President Donald Trump, have downplayed the continuing spread of coronavirus and ignored the need for security measures such as preventing large crowds and wearing masks in an urge to bring the country back to normal.
When he accepted the Republican presidential nomination in the White House on Thursday night, Trump appeared in front of an audience that was virtually completely maskless and participants sat in close proximity. And those who attended First Lady Melania Trump’s speech at the White House Rose Garden earlier this week were not required to test, a person who attended the speech told CNN.
Trump had long insisted on holding a full, personal convention in Charlotte as planned for the pandemic, only to return to objections from the state’s Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, who expressed concern about spreading it. virus at such a large event.
Michael Ahrens, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee, said Friday that the party “had sound security protocols in place” and tested all participants both before and after they arrived in Charlotte.
“Of the roughly 1,000 administration trials, two RNC participants, despite negative tests prior to the trip, and two Charlotte locals, who plan to serve as event type staff, tested positive on arrival. All were returned home. sent, “said Ahrens.
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North Carolina spokeswoman for the Democratic Party Austin Cook, referring to news of the positive tests, said the decision to hold even an expatriate convention in Charlotte was a “slap in the face to the Charlotte community and all of the North.” -Karolinen. “
Earlier in the summer, the president and his campaign were forced to post plans to resume their trademark campaign, after an event in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was poorly attended due to virus. Several members of Trump’s campaign tested positive for the virus, as did several Secret Service agents.
Trump is scheduled to speak at a campaign event Friday night in New Hampshire, and WMUR reports that the event will meet a state requirement that masks be worn at scheduled gatherings of 100 people or more.
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