Researchers at Stanford University believe President Donald Trump's re-election campaign rallies — which are not socially distanced and mask wearing is sporadic — are responsible for 30,000 COVID-19 cases and 700 deaths across the country.

In a paper published Saturday, the four researchers examine infection patterns in 18 separate counties before and after they hosted Trump rallies between June 20 and Sept. 22. The researchers conclude the rallies "ultimately resulted in more than 30,000 incremental confirmed cases of COVID-19" and "likely led to more than 700 deaths."

To isolate the impact of the rallies, the researchers monitored the trends in counties that did not host rallies that were on "similar trajectories" to the 18 rally counties. They found a clear link between rallies and increased community spread of the virus.

"For the vast majority of county matching procedures we employ, our estimate of the average treatment effect across the eighteen rallies implies that they increased subsequent confirmed cases of COVID-19 by more than 250 per 100,000 residents," the authors write.

For the death figures, the authors note that the fatalities were spread across the community, with rally-goers likely infecting other county residents who did not attend the rally and creating new chains of transmission.

"The communities in which Trump rallies took place paid a high price in terms of disease and death," wrote B. Douglas Bernheim, chairman of Stanford's economics department and a lead author of the paper.

Eric Ting, October 31, 2020, SF Gate.

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October 31, 2020

Voices4America Post Script. Researchers at Stanford found what we suspected, Trump and his unmasked rallies are causing illness and death. It is your time to vote for a President who cares about us all and our health. Tuesday is the last day to vote! #Vote #WearYourMask #BidenHarris2020