Trump Campaign Rally Security Personnel Massively Confirmed with COVID-19

Dozens of Agents Test Positive for COVID-19 and Are in Self-Quarantine
Trump Holds About 50 Rallies in Key Battleground States... Past Cases of Infection Also Reported

Trump Removes Mask to Speak After Early Voting

(West Palm Beach AFP=Yonhap News) Ahead of the U.S. presidential election, President Donald Trump is seen removing his COVID-19 prevention mask to speak to the press after voting at an early in-person voting site set up at the Palm Beach County Library in West Palm Beach, Florida, on the 24th of last month.

[Asia Economy Reporter Minwoo Lee] A large number of Secret Service agents deployed at U.S. President Donald Trump's election campaign sites have tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Major foreign media outlets, including CNN, reported on the 13th (local time) that dozens of Secret Service agents who were deployed to protect President Trump at campaign events over the past month have tested positive for COVID-19 or are currently in self-quarantine after contact with confirmed cases.

Earlier, President Trump was discharged from Walter Reed Military Hospital three days after being diagnosed with COVID-19 on the 2nd of last month. Since then, he resumed campaigning in battleground states starting from the 12th of the same month. He has held over 50 campaign events in key battleground states. CNN also pointed out that among the Trump supporters who gathered at the campaign venues, few wore masks.

Agents deployed at President Trump's campaign events in Tulsa, Oklahoma in June and Tampa, Florida in July were also infected with COVID-19 or underwent self-quarantine.

Julie McMurry, a Secret Service spokesperson, did not disclose the number of confirmed cases or those in self-quarantine citing operational security and privacy reasons. However, she stated that COVID-19 testing and epidemiological investigations are underway and that confirmed cases were immediately isolated.

The New York Times (NYT) reported that at least 30 Secret Service agents tested positive for COVID-19 and about 60 were ordered to self-quarantine. The Washington Post (WP) reported that more than 130 agents have either contracted COVID-19 or are in self-quarantine.

According to CNN, the total number of Secret Service personnel is approximately 7,600, of which about 1,600 are assigned to presidential protection duties.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.