Infectious disease expert spells out why Donald Trump’s rally plan is ‘not a good idea’
Infectious disease expert Dr. Harvey Fineberg on Wednesday explained why President Donald Trump’s stated hope to hold “massive” campaign rallies in the “not-too-distant-future” ― amid the coronavirus pandemic ― is “not a good idea.”
Trump earlier in the day said he was unable to imagine a rally “where you have every fourth seat full” due to social distancing measures aimed at slowing the spread of the contagion that has killed more than 60,000 people nationwide.
The president, whose handling of the response to the public health crisis has been widely criticized, also said he hoped to hold “good old-fashioned 25,000-person rallies” before the 2020 election. “We have a tremendous pent-up demand, they love what we’re doing,” he claimed.
Fineberg, the former president of the National Academy of Medicine who has advised the Trump White House on the outbreak, reminded CNN’s Don Lemon that “this virus doesn’t care about American politics.”
“It doesn’t care whether you have a rally for political reasons, for a sporting event, for a choir that’s going to sing together, for a musical festivity,” he noted. “It doesn’t make any difference.”
Continued Fineberg:
The virus spreads through proximity of one person who’s infected to others who are not infected. The larger the numbers, the more likely infection will spread. The longer the time together, the more likely infection will spread. Shouting, singing, cheering are all things that help the virus to spread from one person through droplets, that are visible and invisible, from one person to another.
“So, in short, bringing together 25,000 people for any reason in a closed space for any length of time while this virus is still present is not a good idea,” Fineberg concluded.
Check out the interview here:
"Bringing together 25,000 people for any reason in a closed space for any length of time while this virus is still present is not a good idea." - Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg, an infectious disease expert, on having large gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic https://t.co/zbjaY1BvZhpic.twitter.com/8WLoqRxdY1
— CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) April 30, 2020
