Five schools in Cullman, Alabama, are closing their doors for two weeks due to rising Covid cases. According to the Cullman County school district, one-third of the students in the district's 29 campuses were reported absent due to positive Covid tests or contact tracing, and the Cullman Times reported that the district has 107 reported positive cases of Covid among students. This news comes only days after a local superspreader event: Donald Trump's recent rally.
Prior to Trump's rally, health officials said they were "shivering in their boots" about the prospect of a COVID-19 surge in the wake of not only Trump's rally, but also a Rock the South concert held at the same venue the weekend before.
City officials also declared a state of emergency in advance of Trump's rally, with the state running out of ICU beds.
via Raw Story
The Alabama Republican Party reported that the rally hosted nearly 50,000 people, saying it was the largest political event in the state's history — even if the ex-president was booed for encouraging residents to get vaccinated.
Trump has long been criticized for holding large maskless rallies with no social distancing during the pandemic. Last year, researchers concluded that 18 of his rallies led to more than 30,000 COVID-19 cases and 700 deaths.
via Raw Story
