President Donald Trump said Monday that attending political rallies amid fears of a coronavirus outbreak in the United States was “very safe.”
Trump spoke about the safety of attending 2020 presidential rallies ahead of his own Monday night campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina.
One reporter at the White House asked Trump if it were “safe or appropriate” to hold campaign rallies during the outbreak.
“Well this was set up a long time ago and others are,” Trump replied. “You could ask that to the Democrats. They’re all having rallies. That’s what they’re doing; they’re campaigning.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) hosted a rally in Los Angeles on Sunday with tens of thousands of supporters while some of them wore medical masks amid fears of the virus spread.
Trump told reporters he believed that it was still fine to attend rallies.
“I think it’s very safe,” he said.
On Saturday, health officials advised that Americans did not need to interrupt their daily routines.
Center of Disease Control Director Robert Redfield described the risk of contracting the virus as “low.”
“We’re continuing to aggressively investigate these new community links. We’re going to continue to be transparent in relating that to the American public, but at this stage, again, the risk is low,” he said. “We need to go on with our normal lives.”