Coronavirus / US election 2020: Trump's election campaign rallies as “super-spreader events” - study provides evidence

His challenger Joe Biden emphasized it again and again: Donald Trump's election campaign rallies are "super-spreading events" in times of Corona.

A renowned university is now delivering specific figures.

• Donald Trump

  * has been making huge campaign appearances with thousands of people for months.

• Again and again he had to listen to the new infections with the

  corona virus

  from different sides

  to heat it up.

• A study has now looked at 18 of his

  events

  and highlighted the effects.

Washington, DC

- The Democratic presidential candidate

*

has long

accused US President

that his election campaign rallies are

at which many people would be infected with the corona virus.

In fact, Trump's appearances repeatedly provide images of crowds, densely packed, tightly packed, as can only be seen in exceptional cases in 2020.

Since the president and his campaign team downplay the danger of

the corona virus

, it happens again and again that supporters without a

and without a recommended

distance in front of the stage hoot and sing chants.

So offer exactly the circumstances that the virus loves.

US election 2020: Donald Trump's campaign appearances scientifically examined

Four scientists from the Institute for Economics at

recently published a

in which they took a closer look at the effects of Trump's campaign appearances.

In fact, they scrutinized 18 of his rallies between June and September 2020.

WP with Doug Bernheim, @zdgroff and @seb_otero: The Effects of Large Group Meetings on the Spread of COVID-19: The Case of Trump Rallies

Matching and regression analysis suggest that the first 18 Trump rallies likely resulted in> 30,000 cases & 700 deaths .

(1 / N) #EconTwitter

- Nina Buchmann (@ NinaBuchmann6) October 30, 2020

The numbers speak for themselves: The researchers say that the investigated appearances ended in a total of

.

And the number of deaths is even more frightening: They estimate that the events led to

, with the note that it was not necessarily the participants themselves who died, but those who were infected by them.

US election 2020: Terrifying numbers - and more recent appearances are not even included

For their analysis, the scientists examined

up to ten weeks after the events.

They worked with special

models, with the help of which they calculated detailed forecasts of how many cases

can be expected

in the region, taking into account, for example,

*

.

They then compared these with the actual number of cases and the development in comparable places without

.

The

, an agency for disease control and prevention in the US, has long warned that large events where people don't wear masks or keep their distance can be prone to further infection.

The study states that Trump rallies are particularly well suited for their

, among other things

, because a large number of participants were on site, exact times and locations are known and compliance with the rules was low, especially at the early events, “also because the Trump campaign downplayed the risk of infection ”.

Of the

, only three took place inside (in Tulsa, Phoenix and Henderson), all others took place outside.

Even after performing in

in June

, Donald Trump had to listen to a lot of criticism.

Video: After the Trump rally, there was a clear increase in corona cases in Tulsa

When

, it is also important to note: In October, Trump made numerous other appearances that were no longer taken into account in the study.

Even if the researchers may have improved something in compliance with the corona rules during this time.

"The communities in which Trump rallies took place paid a high price in terms of disease and death." With these words, the researchers conclude their study.

The

quotes Judd Deere, a

*, who dismissed the study as "a politically motivated model based on flawed assumptions intended to shame Trump supporters."