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Donald Trump kicks off Ohio rally striking fear of Covid-19 Delta variant spread

Donald Trump's rally in Ohio is being touted as a 'revenge tour' and is expected to criticize President Joe Biden

Since leaving the White House in disgrace in January, after his supporters stormed the US Capitol, Donald Trump has returned to the campaign trail for the first of his characteristic, rowdy rallies in Wellington, Ohio, southwest of Cleveland, on Saturday, June 26.

The event, which is being touted by some news outlets as a 'revenge tour', kicks off a multi-state tour that includes a visit to the US-Mexico border and a rally in the former president's new home state of Florida. Trump had made his first public appearance in an impromptu rally following his acquittal in the second impeachment trial in West Palm Beach early this February.

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At his Ohio speech, Donald Trump was keen to highlight his coronavirus record, but he only received a little applause when he mentioned Operation Warp Speed, his vaccination campaign, presumably because of the residual anti-vaccine sentiment among many Republicans. “We produced 3 vaccines in record time,” the former president said. “We set Joe Biden up so beautifully. All he had to do was go to the beach, Joe, go to the beach.”

Will Trump rally spread the Delta variant of Covid-19?

People took to Twitter on Saturday to express how they felt about the rally becoming a breeding ground for a new Covid-19 variant, the Delta Plus, which is a sub-lineage of the Delta variation that was first discovered in India and has acquired the K417N spike protein mutation. Some scientists are concerned that the mutation will make it more contagious. So people wondered why, when countries were going into lockdown to contain the variant, the former president was holding a rally peopled by anti-vaxxers. 

"Australia's biggest city heads into a two week hard lock down to contain the Delta Covid variant. MEANWHILE in Ohio, the guy who got vaccinated back in January gathers a bunch of unvaccinated rubes to help spread the Delta variant. #TrumpRallyOhio #TrumpRally," said a tweet. "What a bunch of cultist weirdos. Someone help them before they all catch the delta variant of Covid-19. Or don't they deserve everything they receive #TrumpRally," another added. "Probably a superspeader event tonight on Ohio… #DeltaVariant #TrumpRally," said a third.

'What's the body count?'

"What's the body count, so far? Or are they just planning to unleash the Delta variant on all of us? So many questions," a Twitter user said. "Show me how to force a petri dish for the #DeltaVariant to spread in real time. **Push them in closer**," said another, sharing a clip from the massive rally. "How to reduce GOP voter turnout in 2022? #TrumpRally + #DeltaVariant," a third quipped. "Imagine not having anything better to do on the weekend than flocking to ground zero of the Delta variant for Don the Con's pre-arrest tour #TrumpRally," a fourth chipped in.

CDC flouts WHO recommendations

To protect people against the delta variant, the World Health Organization on Friday recommended that fully vaccinated people wear masks and exercise social distance, but the CDC has not followed suit. Dr Mariangela Simao, WHO assistant director-general for access to medicines and health products, said, "Vaccines alone won't stop community transmission". The Delta variant has been called "the most transmissible of the variants identified so far," as the WHO warned it is now spreading in at least 85 countries, according to the Daily Mail.

"People need to continue to use masks consistently, be in ventilated spaces, hand hygiene ... the physical distance, avoid crowding," Simao said during a press conference, as reported by CNBC. "This still continues to be extremely important, even if you're vaccinated when you have a community transmission ongoing." 

Because of "mounting evidence" that the delta variant is more contagious than other variants, the CDC elevated its classification of it from "variant of interest" to "variant of concern" early last week. But except for a few exclusions like public transportation, the CDC hasn't updated any of its instructions since May's declaration that fully vaccinated people don't need to wear masks indoors or outside. Since then, masks have become increasingly rare in the United States, as many COVID regulations have been lifted in all 50 states.