Trump prepares for campaign rally in Tulsa amid Covid-19 pandemic
Supporters of President Donald Trump were lining up early Saturday outside metal barriers surrounding the Tulsa stadium to show support for his re-election campaign.
United States President Donald Trump kicks off his campaign for re-election in Tulsa, Oklahoma amid the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing protests over George Floyd’s death --ignoring the advice of health officials that warned him against starting his campaign because it could increase the spread of Covid-19.
Up to 19,000 of his supporters are expected to pack the BOK Center after it was confirmed on Monday that there were one million requests for tickets to attend the rally.
Concern raised over Oklahoma rally
President Trump also plans to do an outdoor event and officials are expecting at least 100,000 people, thus raising concerns that it could lead to an increase in coronavirus cases in Oklahoma.
The Trump campaign will be implementing health measures to stop the spread like conducting temperature checks, distributing hand sanitizers and handing out masks. But what will not be implemented is the six-foot distance social distancing policy. Other concerns are that organized groups known for violence were traveling to the city for the purpose of causing unrest in and around the rally.
On Friday evening, Trump announced that the curfew set up to prevent chaos in the city has been lifted, with city mayor G.T. Bynun later confirming the news.
"I enacted a curfew at the request of Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin, following consultation with the United States Secret Service based on intelligence they had received. But today (Friday) we were told the curfew is no longer necessary,” said the mayor.