A new study from Stanford claims that there are 30,000 new COVID-19 cases that people have contracted from Trump rallies.
Researchers at Stanford found that at 18 Trump rallies between June 20 and September 22 are the reason behind 30,000 new positive cases of COVID-19.
The researchers were able to give the estimate by comparing counties. They compared locations where rallies happened with other counties that had a similar amount of cases until the event’s date.
In addition, nearly 700 deaths have been a result of the rallies. Although some deaths happened through the transmission to others that were not in attendance.
“The communities in which Trump rallies took place paid a high price in terms of disease and death,” said B. Douglas Bernheim, chairman of Stanford’s economics department.
Andrew Bates, a spokesperson for Joe Biden, has some strong words for President Trump, as well. He said that President Trump’s campaign is “costing hundreds of lives and sparking thousands of cases with super spreader rallies that only serve his own ego.”
“The worst part is that this doesn’t even capture Trump’s many superspreader events on White House grounds or the last five weeks of events across the country,” Bates said. “How many more lives have been upended in that time? How many more empty seats are there at kitchen tables across America because of Donald Trump’s ego?”
COVID-19 Cases Rising
The study indicated that the CDC’s warning against large crows is linked to the transmission of the virus, “particularly when the degree of compliance with guidelines concerning the use of masks and social distancing is low.”
According to John Hopkins University, the US set record highs for new cases on Friday with 99,321 positive tests. This brings the seven-day average also to a new high of 78,738 cases.
Out of the 18 rallied examined, two of them were held indoors. President Trump has often been slammed for holding such large in-person rallies to gain last-minute votes for the election in a few days.
[H/T CNBC]
