Church Trump Rally Used Air System Not Tested On COVID-19: Report

PHOENIX, AZ — A Tuesday rally for President Donald Trump packed seats in Phoenix's Dream City Church with maskless attendees — but that same day, the church acknowledged that the filtration system its leaders had touted just two days earlier as "killing 99.9% of COVID within ten minutes" was not actually tested on the coronavirus.

"When you come into our auditorium, 99% of COVID is gone, killed, if it was even there in the first place," the church's senior pastor Luke Barnett said in a video released Sunday; the video was deleted after multiple news outlets highlighted the dubiousness of the claim, particularly as Arizona experienced an alarming spike in cases and hospitalizations.

In a statement released the same day as Trump's speech, the church said it wanted "to alleviate any confusion we may have caused."

"Our statement regarding the CleanAir EXP units used the word COVID when we should have said Coronavirus or COVID surrogates,"the church said. "The company found that their technology leads to a 99.9% elimination of airborne coronavirus surrogates. So while they do not eliminate COVID-19, their coronavirus surrogate testing results are significant for the future of clean air."

But this explanation did not account for previous claims that strongly suggested the system been shown to reduce COVID-19 risk. Instead, the system was tested using coronavirus surrogates, a category that includes the virus that causes the common cold. The website for IONaer, which sells the CleanAir EXP units, currently touts a "COVID-19 surrogate test report" — but the test report itself showed that the company did not use a coronavirus surrogate in its air testing, the Phoenix New Times reported.

Read more: Trump Gets A More Energized Crowd In Phoenix

On Friday, Arizona Attorney General sent cease-and-desist letters to both the company and the church for spreading false advertising about the CleanAir EXP system.

In an interview with NBC News, Tim Bender, the CEO and co-founder of IONaer, admitted that the system is not designed to reduce the infection risk of person-to-person contact.

"There is nothing we can do with someone who coughs or sneezes," Bender told NBC. "The words we try to use is we add an additional layer of protection from passing viruses and bacteria through the area inside buildings."

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the risk of coronavirus spread is higher indoors or in areas of low ventilation. Photos from Tuesday's Trump rally showed few masks and attendees sitting in the adjoining seats without room for social distancing. About 3,000 students attended the event, which was announced as an "Address to Young Americans."

During Trump, who did not wear a mask as he spoke, drew cheers as he blamed the coronavirus outbreak on China. Trump also remarked on his apparent confusion regarding the meaning behind the designation "COVID-19."

"What's the 19?" Trump said. "COVID-19, some people can't explain what the 19, give me, COVID-19, I said, 'That's an odd name.'"

Read also: Air Purifier Used At Trump Rally Cited For False Advertising: AG