The Oklahoma reporter who covered President Donald Trump’s June 20 rally in Tulsa, Okla, confirms he’s tested positive for COVID-19.
Paul Monies, a reporter for the investigative nonprofit news organization the Oklahoma Watch, disclosed his test on Twitter on Friday.
“Friends, I tested positive for #COVID19. I’m pretty surprised,” Monies tweeted. “I have zero symptoms (so far) and I feel fine. In fact, I ran five miles this morning.”
He said he spent the past few hours contacting people he’s been in touch with over the last 14 days, asking for everybody to be safe and to be careful out there.
Monies reported to the associated press that he had been covering the President’s rally in Tulsa for about six hours. He said he kept a mask and maintained social distance, even when he attempted to buy a snack. He also said he didn’t come near to President Trump.
Six of the President’s campaign team working to manage the rally have tested positive for Coronavirus, the campaign announced before the protest. The campaign said that none of the workers would be present at the gathering.
Leading public health experts raised worries last week that the Tulsa rally might create a new COVID-19 hotspot in the United States. The Hill notes that a number of participants at the protest were seen not wearing masks. Doctors claim that being indoors and not wearing a mask greatly raises the chance of spreading the virus.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention policy notes that all individuals, regardless of whether they have symptoms or not, should wear masks in public spaces.
Coronavirus outbreaks are on the rise in the United States. Throughout the last week, rates were as high as 31,700 new cases per day, higher than the previous peak rate the nation hit throughout April.
As of Saturday morning ET, there were at least 2,467,874 declared cases of the virus in the U.S. and at least 125,039 confirmed deaths per tracker at Johns Hopkins University. At least 3,103 confirmed cases were reported in Tulsa County by the tracker.
Source: TIME
