As the US presidential elections come nearer, there is an increase in campaigns and political rallies across the country. A large number of people usually participate in such gatherings, which goes against the current recommendations for controlling coronavirus pandemic. These rallies can also contribute majorly to new coronavirus infections in the country.
The US is already struggling with a new wave of infections for the past two weeks. Health experts warned the continuation of such conditions is likely to pave the way for a lockdown once again.
In fact, the leading infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci has already suggested states with rising cases to impose a second lockdown on Wednesday.
During the early days of the crisis, the major contributors were known by health experts. Now, new hotspots are emerging along with new contributors as states continue to reopen. For instance, the aforementioned political rallies allow hundreds of people to gather at a single play.
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Usually, it is often difficult to practice social distancing in such gatherings. Social distancing is one of the primary requirements to avoid the further spread of coronavirus. People are likely to contract the infection even if they are wearing a mask at a place where people have little distance amongst each other.
Recently, over two hundred new coronavirus infections have been traced back to a campaign rally by President Donald Trump in Tulsa in Oklahoma.
The city’s health department has stated that the people who tested positive for the virus have likely contracted the virus while attending the Trump rally held last month.
Last Monday, around two hundred and six people tested positive for the coronavirus infection. The very next day, another two hundred and sixty-one new infections were also diagnosed. According to Tulsa County, both numbers have been the highest in the city up till now.
In a new conference, the director of the Tulsa Health Department, Dr. Bruce Dart said that the surge emerged after the political campaign of Trump took place in the city.
“The past two days we’ve had almost 500 cases, and we know we had several large events a little over two weeks ago, which is about right. So I guess we just connect the dots.” Dart said.
The Tulsa county currently has more active cases of the coronavirus infection than any other in the state of Oklahoma due to the recent rise. Along with the political rally in the city, there have also been other factors that played a role in increasing the cases.
For example, even though Tulsa’s Health Department has emphasized the need for a face mask, many of the people who attended the Trump campaign were not wearing a mask. Additionally, the gathering was also held indoors.
Research has already shown that coronavirus transmission is higher indoors and people are more likely to contract the virus if they do not have a face covering. If people continue to neglect the instructions, there are likely to be more coronavirus outbreaks.
Dr. Dart had already asked President Donald Trump to delay the political rally in the city due to rising concerns about coronavirus. Now, he says that the health department is expecting an exponential increase in new coronavirus infections soon.
