Trump Campaign Manager Brad Parscale Self-Quarantined at Home as New Covid Cases Spiked in Tulsa After Rally: Report

Photo credit: Nicholas Kamm, AFP via Getty Images.

Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale self-quarantined at home in the wake of the rally in Tulsa, which experienced a surge in hundreds of new Covid-19 cases following the political event.

According to a new report in the Washington Post, six campaign staffers on site tested positive during coronavirus screening just hours before the rally. The sudden emergence of the virus just as thousands of President Donald Trump’s supporters were about to enter the arena ignited a flurry of chaotic activity, as health-care workers were pressed about whether they leaked the news and prompted questions about who should get follow-up tests. Numerous public health experts warned that the rally had the potential to be a “super spreader event.”

“In Tulsa, where many rally attendees did not wear masks, coronavirus cases climbed in the days immediately following the event, according to local health officials, who have said it is still unknown whether the gathering contributed to the problem,” the Post reported. “Some top campaign officials, including campaign manager Brad Parscale, self-quarantined at home while other employees went to hotels, according to campaign advisers.”

The notably low attendance at the rally, which still featured thousands of Trump fans not wearing masks and failing to social distance, was a very public embarrassment for the campaign, which had boasted nearly one million people signed up to attend. The Trump 2020 team attributed the poor showing to ongoing fears of the coronavirus and has put on hold any future plans for political rallies like the one in Tulsa.

“Tulsa County saw record-setting spikes of coronavirus cases in the days after the Trump rally — with the discovery of roughly 200 to 250 new cases each day,” the paper noted. “In all, the county charted 902 new cases of the virus in the week after the rally, an increase of 15 percent over the week that led up the president’s visit. This week, new cases have fallen slightly, with an average of 93 positive cases per day so far.”

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