Donald Trump kick-starts poll rally with empty seats

Protesters march near the BOK Centre, where Trump is holding a rally, in Tulsa on Saturday. Over 1,20,000 have died in the US. Pic/AP

Thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump showed up in an indoor arena on Saturday night for a rally that some fear could help fuel nascent spikes in COVID-19 cases, concerns that were amplified after six staffers helping to set up the event tested positive for the virus.

Officials of the state and city health departments were already bracing for a possible surge in cases from large outdoor demonstrations against police brutality held across the country. Now the Trump rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, shaped up to be the first indoor event of such a massive scale since the pandemic took hold.

Donald Trump

Supporters - most without masks - from several states and hundreds of protesters filled streets on Saturday around the stadium. The Trump campaign's communications director, Tim Murtaugh, said in a statement that "quarantine procedures" were immediately initiated and no staff member who tested positive would attend the event.

Health experts are worried that attendees could unknowingly take the virus back to their respective hometowns and states, seeding additional outbreaks. But Oklahoma's Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt said it would be safe.

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