Trump campaign says it will give temperature checks, masks to rally attendees

Attendees at President Trump’s rally in Oklahoma on Saturday will be given temperature checks, masks and hand sanitizer before entering the arena, the campaign said Monday, the first indication that there will be any precautions taken to limit the spread of the coronavirus.

Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale tweeted the checklist, boasting that there had been more than 1 million requests for tickets for the Tulsa rally. The BOK Center, which will host the rally, holds roughly 19,000 people.

Tickets are free and can be requested by anyone regardless of whether they intend to go to the event. But the requests serve as as a significant source of data for the campaign. 

Over 1M ticket requests for the @realDonaldTrump #MAGA Rally in Tulsa on Saturday.

Before entering each guest will get:

✅Temperature check
✅Hand sanitizer
✅Mask

There will be precautions for the heat and bottled water as well.

— Brad Parscale (@parscale) June 15, 2020

Public health experts have pointed to wearing face coverings as one of the best ways to help slow the spread of the virus. But Trump has personally chafed at the optics of wearing a mask, making it unclear how many of his supporters will actually wear one at Saturday’s event.

Health officials have raised alarms about the president’s plans to restart arena rallies as the coronavirus rages around the country, with cases and hospitalizations spiking in numerous states. They have noted that large gatherings in enclosed spaces are the highest risk events for spreading the virus.

The editorial board of the Tulsa World has called on Trump to reconsider hosting the campaign rally in the city, calling it the “wrong time” to do so during the pandemic.

Those who sign up for tickets to the event must agree not to sue the Trump campaign or the host venue in the event they contract COVID-19.

Trump has been defiant, complaining on Monday morning that the media “is trying to Covid Shame us on our big Rallies.” He suggested press coverage of nationwide protests over police brutality and racial injustice had not adequately harped on the risks of spreading the coronavirus.

As of Monday, more than 2 million people in the U.S. have been infected by the coronavirus and more than 115,000 people in the country have died as a result of the virus, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.