Donald Trump defies Covid guidelines on re-election launch

About 1,500 people gathered on Thursday night so President Trump could accept his party's nomination for reelection in front of a roaring crowd at the Republican National Convention. pic/afp

It was a stunning scene in a country where parents and children have been laid to rest without their loved ones present, schools have gone to online-only learning and businesses have shut their doors to halt the spread of the coronavirus.

A crowd of 1,500

On Thursday night, about 1,500 people gathered on the South Lawn of the White House so President Donald Trump could accept his party's nomination for reelection in front of a roaring crowd. While COVID-19 kills 1,000 Americans each day, Trump defied his own administration's pandemic guidelines to speak for over an hour to a tightly packed, largely mask-less crowd.

No masks, no distancing

Masks were not required and chairs were placed inches apart from one another, with no room for physical distancing, in violation of endless health recommendations.

More than 42,000 new cases were reported on Wednesday and 2,700 more have died since the week began. But few convention speakers made reference to the virus.

Take virus threat seriously: Merkel

Chancellor Angela Merkel is cautioning that the COVID-19 crisis will make life more difficult in the coming months than it has been over the summer and is calling on Germans to continue taking the threat seriously. She said on Friday, "We have to expect that some things will be even more difficult in the coming months than in the summer." Germany has 2,41,257 cases, including 9,360 deaths.

Keep scrolling to read more news

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever