St. Louis County Health Officials Recommend Testing for Trump Rally Attendees

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Minn. – St. Louis County health officials say after recent news of President Trump testing positive for COVID-19 following his visit to Duluth they are strongly recommending attendees consider getting tested.

“Based on the ‘six feet for 15 minutes’ assessment, the likelihood of someone in the audience catching the virus from someone on stage is fairly minimal,” said Amy Westbrook, St. Louis County Public Health Division Director. “However, with an estimated attendance of at least 3,000 people at the rally, there’s a pretty good likelihood that some of the attendees had the virus and were contagious, so as we would with any event, we strongly encourage participants to quarantine, monitor themselves for symptoms and consider getting tested.”

The Minnesota Department of Health and CDC say that the highest risk of COVID-19 exposure is when a person is less than six feet away for 15 minutes or more with someone who is contagious.

Health officials say people who are not showing symptoms should wait at least five to seven days after exposure to be tested due to the incubation period for COVID.

People who are symptomatic must quarantine and should contact their medical provider to discuss the next steps.

There are several free community testing events, including one that St. Louis County Public Health will be offering in Ely, next week.

Details on those events and how to register can be found on the MDH Community Testing web page.

Another option is the free saliva testing site available at the DECC. Details and registration information can be found here.