Robeson already a hot zone for coronavirus, and Trump rally could exacerbate that
President Donald Trump is scheduled to campaign in Lumberton on Saturday, bringing thousands of people to a rally in a county with one of North Carolina's highest rates of coronavirus infections.
Robeson County has had 5,668 residents infected during the pandemic, or 4,339 per 100,000 people. That infection rate ranks third in the state, behind only Duplin County and neighboring Scotland County.
The 68 new cases reported each day last week was the most for any county during that time, state health officials said, and coronavirus testing in the county is showing 11 percent positive results, which is almost double the state average.
New COVID-19 cases by county
The curves below, showing a 7-day rolling average of reported new cases in each county, use data collected from state health officials by Johns Hopkins University's Coronavirus Resource Center. The counties are sorted by the largest total of lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases, and the top-20 counties are shown by default. Vertical axes are scaled by default based on the largest number of new cases. Select the variable axis setting to scale each county's cases individually to see their respective spikes. Enter a county below to highlight it for comparison. NOTE: Starting on Sept. 25, the Johns Hopkins data began including cases identified through antigen testing reported by DHHS. The addition of these cases appears as a sharp spike in some counties.
Source: Johns Hopkins CSSE
Graphic: Tyler Dukes, WRAL // Get the data
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Trump will be at the Robeson County Fairgrounds to address how he's "fighting for forgotten men and women."
Trump said Wednesday that he supports legislation pending in Congress that would extend federal recognition to the Lumbee tribe of North Carolina. He said in a statement, "Lumbee Nation is forgotten no more!"
The Lumbee Recognition Act would allow members of the tribe to get federal benefits provided to certain groups of Native Americans.
Trump's rallies usually draw several thousand people, packed together in small areas. Although campaign officials say they encourage people to wear masks, the majority usually leave their faces uncovered.
“We take strong precautions for our campaign events," campaign spokeswoman Courtney Parella said. "Every attendee has their temperature checked, is provided a mask they’re instructed to wear and has access to plenty of hand sanitizer. We also have signs at our events instructing attendees to wear their masks."
State health officials encouraged anyone attending the rally to get tested for coronavirus in the coming days, but Democratic 1st District Congressman G.K. Butterfield said he fears that won't prevent massive spread of the virus in southeast North Carolina.
“What we will see tomorrow at Robeson County will be nothing but a superspreader, and will expose good Tar Heel citizens to this unnecessary virus," Butterfield said. "I think the president needs to follow CDC guidelines, I think he needs to observe the standards set forward by Gov. [Roy] Cooper."
After Trump held a rally in Minnesota on Sept. 18, health officials were able to trace 16 cases back to the airport in Bemidji, where Trump addressed a mostly maskless crowd. Four people who tested positive attended the rally, The New York Times reports.
Health officials were careful to not conclude that these people contracted the virus at that rally. Three of the people who attended a Sept. 30 Trump rally in Duluth and three people who attended a Sept. 24 rally featuring Vice President Mike Pence at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport also tested positive for the virus, officials said. One person was present at both events.
As the election draws closer, the Trump campaign is making a push for votes in eastern North Carolina, hoping it will help him win a state critical to his re-election bid.
Vice President Mike Pence will hold a rally in Kinston on Sunday. Last week, Pence followed Trump's rally in Greenville with an event in Selma.
