- Two members of a campaign advance team who attended President Donald Trump's rally in Oklahoma on Saturday have tested positive for the coronavirus, the campaign said Monday.
- The new test results bring the tally of advance team members for the Tulsa event who have tested positive for Covid-19 up to eight.
- The number includes at least two Secret Service officers who had been detailed to the event tested positive for the virus before the rally began Saturday evening.
President Donald J. Trump speaks during a "Make America Great Again!" rally at the BOK Center on Saturday, June 20, 2020 in Tulsa, OK.Jabin Botsford | The Washington Post via Getty Images
Two members of a campaign advance team who attended President Donald Trump's rally in Oklahoma on Saturday have tested positive for the coronavirus, the campaign said Monday.
The new test results bring the tally of advance team members for the Tulsa event who have tested positive for Covid-19 up to eight.
The six earlier positive tests of advance members occurred just before the event. At least two of the earlier positive tests were of Secret Service agents.
The number of people connected to the event who test positive is expected to rise, NBC News reported, citing campaign and and law enforcement officials.
The announcement of the two additional advance team members testing postive after they attended the rally came a day before Trump is scheduled to visit the Dream City Church in Phoenix, Arizona, for an event hosted by Students for Trump.
"After another round of testing for campaign staff in Tulsa, two additional members of the advance team tested positive for the coronavirus," said Trump campaign communications director Tim Murtaugh on Monday.
"These staff members attended the rally but were wearing masks during the entire event. Upon the positive tests, the campaign immediately activated established quarantine and contact tracing protocols," Murtaugh said.
The two staffers were among those tested after the rally as a precaution for flying home, according to NBC.
Trump reportedly was furious on Saturday afternoon when news broke that a half dozen members of the advance team had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Attendees of the event were required to sign a waiver releasing Trump and his campaign of any liability if they became ill after the rally.
The president was angry after the rally, as well.
Despite his campaign boasting in advance of a massive demand for the event, the rally at the BOK Center, which has a capacity of 19,000, drew just 6,200 people.
Even before the rally began, workers began breaking down a stage set up outside in an area set aside for what was expected to be thousands of people who could not get into the arean.
Just dozens of people gathered in that outside area by the time that Vice President Mike Pence was set to begin talking inside the arena in advance of Trump.
This is breaking news. Check back for updates.
Source: cnbc.com