Nine people who attended Trump rally in Minnesota contracted coronavirus

Nine people who attended a campaign rally for President Trump in Bemidji, Minn., last month have tested positive for the coronavirus.

Health officials confirmed to MPR News that of the nine who contracted COVID-19, two have been hospitalized, one of whom required intensive care.

It is not immediately clear that the people contracted the virus at the rally.

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The Minnesota Department of Health did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

The news is just the latest in a string of negative developments for the White House; as Trump himself was treated over the weekend after his own coronavirus diagnosis, a burgeoning number of White House staffers, campaign aides and outside advisers also tested positive.

Many of the individuals who have tested positive attended a Sept. 26 event at the White House where Trump announced the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. The event was held outside, but many people in the crowded audience did not wear masks.

"Well, I think the data speak for themselves. We had a superspreader event in the White House, and it was in a situation where people were crowded together and were not wearing masks," Anthony Fauci, the government's top infectious diseases expert, said Friday.

Democrats tore into the Trump campaign over the Minnesota news, directly blaming the president for the infections.

source - thehill.com