Despite a very dangerous virus going rampant, people have been gathering for events related to presidential elections and major leagues sports. 

For example, a recent Stanford study concluded that Trump rallies resulted in more than 30,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and likely caused the deaths of around 700 attendees and people close to them.

This research seems to have garnered a large amount of controversy over Trump’s candidacy. Biden’s campaign took hold of the study, claiming it was further evidence that Trump was holding “super-spreader” events. 

Albeit, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of talk on the sports side of the problem, so this is likely just a politically charged accusation. 

In retaliation, the Trump campaign claimed it took precautions to protect rally attendees, like the posting of signs that urge the use of masks. 

Trump’s Campaign deputy Courtney Parella responded with the explanation that “Americans have the right to gather under the First amendment to hear from the president of the United States, and we take strong precautions for our campaign events, requiring every attendee to have their temperature checked, providing masks they’re instructed to wear, and ensuring access to plenty of hand sanitizer.” 

“Donald Trump doesn’t even care about the very lives of his strongest supporters,” said popular spokesman Andrew Bates in a recent interview with the Washington Post.

According to the Stanford research team, Trump rallies have several special features that lend themselves to a study of contagion. 

For instance, presidential rallies occur between specific time frames and take place in specific counties. These planned times and locations legitimize data because the environment is so scheduled and organized. Essentially, it allows the consequences of said grouping to be compared with other counties that didn’t have gatherings. Researchers can also compare the numbers of COVID-19 cases before and after the rallies. 

The Stanford team’s research concluded that the presidential rallies increased the number of confirmed COVD-19 cases by more than 250 per 100,000 county residents.