Four people who attended the Republican National Convention (RNC) meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina, tested positive for COVID-19, according to county officials.
ABC News reports that two attendees and two people who “supported the event” came into contact with coronavirus. They were immediately placed in isolation, according to an official statement by North Carolina’s Mecklenburg county that was posted on Friday.
A Spokesman for the RNC told media outlets a number of safety protocols were put into place that included making sure all attendees were tested. Testing was given before traveling to Charlotte and, upon arrival.
RNC Communication Director Michael Ahrens told the media.
“Out of roughly 1,000 tests administered, two RNC attendees, despite having negative tests prior to travel, and two Charlotte locals who planned to serve as event support staff tested positive upon arrival. All were sent home,”
Inside the Charlotte Convention Center, where over 300 delegates from around the country traveled to, most attendees packed inside did not wear masks, ignoring North Carolina’s COVID-19 statewide mask mandate
Originally, Charlotte, North Carolina was going to host the entire Republican convention. Due to coronavirus-related concerns limiting the activities of large party business, much of the event was remote or held in Washington, DC.
The RNC Convention was not the first Trump event that has been linked to coronavirus.
This past summer Trump held a rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma that public health experts in the state admitted contributed to a rise in cases in the area.
Eight Trump campaign advance staffers were in Tulsa, and two that attended the rally, tested positive for the virus.
The White House denied the idea that the Tulsa rally increased coronavirus cases in the area. White House Press Secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, said she had “no data to indicate” that was the case.
