White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows hands a note to US President Donald Trump during a roundtable meeting on seniors in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on June 15, 2020. (Photo by AFP)
US President Donald Trump has defied calls against holding an election campaign rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, due to coronavirus risks, stressing that he wants to triple the crowd.
"We have a 22,000 seat arena, but I think were also going to take the convention hall next door and thats going to hold 40,000," Trump told reporters.
He made the remarks amid warnings from local newspapers and health officials who said the rally risks aggravating coronavirus risks.
The election campaign rally is scheduled for Saturday and comes as Oklahoma is seeing a recent increase in COVID-19 cases.
Tulsa County marked record high numbers of coronavirus infections on Friday and then again on Saturday.
It will be Trumps first in-person rally since the pandemic shutdown began in March.
"This is the wrong time," the Tulsa World newspaper said.
"We dont know why he chose Tulsa, but we cant see any way that his visit will be good for the city."
The newspaper pointed out that Trumps rally comes as COVID-19 continues to spread and there is no vaccine.
"It will be our health care system that will have to deal with whatever effects follow," it said.
Tulsas health department director Bruce Dart also called for a delay to the Saturday event, citing the coronavirus risk.
"Im concerned about our ability to protect anyone who attends a large, indoor event, and Im also concerned about our ability to ensure the president stays safe as well," he told the Tulsa World.
In a tweet Monday, Trump claimed that applications to attend the rally in the city, which has a population of less than half a million, "were flooding in."
The US president, who is seeking reelection in November, frequently exaggerates numbers, regularly claiming that as many as tens of thousands of people are outside the arenas, unable to get in, when that is not true, AFP said.
The US coronavirus crisis has forced Trump to shelve his rally schedule, putting a serious dent in his reelection strategy.
‘Normalcy may not return in US until next year
Top US health official for infectious diseases, Dr. Anthony Fauci said, "Its going to be really wait and see. My feeling, looking at whats going on with the infection rate."
"I think its more likely measured in months rather than weeks," he said referring to the timeline for easing the pandemic restrictions.
"The ban could last until a vaccine is developed, although it may be before that," the director of the US Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases told British newspaper The Telegraph.
Fauci said British holidaymakers can expect to be banned from travelling to the United States for months under coronavirus restrictions.
Around 3.8 million Britons visit the United States in a normal year, to holiday destinations including New York, Los Angeles, Florida and Las Vegas, The Telegraph said.
Fauci also said, "It is not inevitable that you will have a so-called second wave in the fall or even a massive increase if you approach it in the proper way. However, when you start to see increases in hospitalization, thats a surefire situation that youve got to pay close attention to."
Coronavirus cases in the US have increased in 18 states, including Texas and Oregon, over the past week, with six states reporting more than a 50% jump amid reopenings. The US coronavirus case count crossed 2 million last week.
More than 115,000 people have died in the United States as of Monday afternoon, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
SOURCE: PRESS TV
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/18570
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