Multiple Covid-19 cases linked to GOP convention in North Carolina
At least four people present at the RNC in Charlotte, North Carolina have tested positive for coronavirus
At least four people present at the in-person activities of the Republican National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina Monday have tested positive for Covid-19, according to Mecklenburg County officials.
The two attendees and two event supporters have been quarantined, ABC News reports.
A GOP spokesperson told the outlet that attendees were tested before and after their arrival at the convention, and that contact tracing protocols were diligently followed. However, while masks and social distancing guidelines were recommended, convention officials say they were not mandatory.
RNC communications director Michael Ahrens told ABC News that approximately 1,000 tests were administered to people who attended or provided support to the convention, and the four people that tested positive had tested negative prior to their arrival.
He added that those four people were issued isolation instructions and were immediately sent home.
Read More: Trump campaign removed social distancing signs prior to Tulsa rally, footage shows
Over 300 delegates from around the country traveled to Charlotte, North Carolina and were packed inside the convention center, and most of the attendees were not wearing masks, disregarding North Carolina’s statewide Covid-19 mask mandate.
The city of Charlotte had originally planned to host the entire convention, but due to coronavirus concerns activities at the Charlotte Convention Center were limited to mainly party business rather than speeches, and much of the event was held in Washington, D.C.
Read More: Trump ripped for politicizing the White House with RNC acceptance speech
The Charlotte convention is not the only Trump event where attendees have tested positive for coronavirus. Months earlier, Trump held a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma that state health officials say contributed to a spike in cases in the city.
Most notably, former Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain attended the Trump campaign rally in Tulsa and was hospitalized shortly afterward. Cain died in late July.
Though the Trump campaign denied that Cain became sickened at the rally, many have theorized that he contracted the virus there and then later died of Covid-19-related complications.
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