Coronavirus case linked to GOP rally in western NC

State health officials said Wednesday that at least one coronavirus case has been linked to a political rally Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest held in western North Carolina two weeks ago.

Posted 10:53 p.m. Oct 28, 2020 — Updated 11:30 p.m. Oct 28, 2020

RALEIGH, N.C. — State health officials said Wednesday that at least one coronavirus case has been linked to a political rally Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest held in western North Carolina two weeks ago.

Forest, who is running for governor against Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, was kicking off early voting in the state with an Oct. 15 rally in Burnsville. The rally was billed on social media as both a "Back the Blue" rally for law enforcement and a "Yancey County Trump Cruisin'" with people parading in vehicles with flags supporting President Donald Trump.

Mark Robinson, the Republican candidate to succeed Forest as lieutenant governor, and Madison Cawthorn, the Republican candidate in the 11th Congressional District, also were to speak at the rally, according to advertisements online. Forest posted online that more than 4,000 people attended the event.

"DHHS is aware of one case associated with a person that attended a rally in Burnsville on Oct. 15," Kelly Haight Connor, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health and Human Services, said in an email. "Local health departments conduct contact tracing, and work to identify all close contacts of any positive COVID-19 case and recommend quarantine and testing. However, not all cases can be reached or provide complete information about their activities.

"People who have attended a mass gathering of any kind, including rallies, are encouraged to get tested for COVID-19," she added.

Forest has questioned whether masks work to limit the spread of coronavirus, and he had openly defied the mask mandate Cooper put in effect months ago, holding numerous campaign events across North Carolina where few people cover their faces and where there is little social distancing among attendees.

He and Cooper have frequently sparred during the campaign over the governor's handling of the pandemic, with Forest calling for restrictions on businesses and social activities to be lifted so people can return to their lives while officials take steps to protect those most at risk from the virus.

There was no immediate response Wednesday evening from Forest's campaign.

Suggest A Correction