Kane Co. Democrats Label Trump Rally A Superspreader For COVID-19

ST. CHARLES, IL — Kane County Democrats are pointing to a large rally last month in support of President Donald Trump as the driver for a recent spike in coronavirus cases in the region, but local public health officials say they "don't have data to support that claim."

The Daily Herald recently reported there was an “ongoing investigation” into the Sept. 27 rally, which drew thousands of Trump supporters to the Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles.

However, Kane County Health Department spokesperson Susan Stack told Patch on Wednesday that the Herald's article was "misleading," adding "we don't have data" to show the rally was a superspreader.

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Photos from the rally showed very few people wearing masks, while many were not keeping their distance from other people and groups.

The positivity rate within Region 8 — made up of Kane and DuPage counties — was 5.3 percent on Sept. 27 after dropping consistently over the prior two weeks.

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The region’s positivity rate continued to drop in the week that followed the rally, but it’s been climbing rapidly since Oct. 5, public health data shows.

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Region 8 triggered new coronavirus restrictions Tuesday — three weeks after the rally — when it recorded a 9 percent positivity rate. Kane County’s positivity rate sits at 11.9 percent, as of Tuesday, according to public health data.

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Kane County Republicans hit back at the county's Democratic Party, calling it a "political stunt" to label the rally as a superspreader event and blame it for a resurgence in new coronavirus cases, the Kane County Chronicle reports.

*Editor's note: This article was updated Wednesday after the Kane County Health Department said its data does not show the Sept. 27 pro-Trump rally was a superspreader event.

Trump parade St Charles, IL pic.twitter.com/iJtlIVszAY
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