Tulsa Health Official Says Recent ‘Large Events’ Like Trump Rally ‘Likely Contributed’ to Surge in Covid Cases

Tulsa health department director Dr. Bruce Dart — who had advised against President Donald Trump’s recent rally — said Wednesday that large events like the rally and recent protests factored into the rise in coronavirus cases in the county.

During Wednesday’s press briefing, Dart talked about the metrics they’ve been using on Covid-19 cases, and when asked if Tulsa County is the worst in the state with respect to cases, he pointed to “significant events in the last few weeks that more than likely contributed” to that.

Dart was also specifically asked about the president’s rally, and said the following:

“The question was are we starting to see things connected to the Trump rally or the other protests, and — so, as I said, 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 we just connect the dots.”

Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh provided this statement to the Associated Press:

“There were literally no health precautions to speak of as thousands looted, rioted, and protested in the streets and the media reported that it did not lead to a rise in coronavirus cases,” Murtaugh said in a statement. “Meanwhile, the President’s rally was 18 days ago, all attendees had their temperature checked, everyone was provided a mask, and there was plenty of hand sanitizer available for all.

“It’s obvious that the media’s concern about large gatherings begins and ends with Trump rallies,” he said.

You can watch the Tulsa press briefing above. The relevant comments start at the 30-minute mark.