A ‘high-risk’ event: RNC creating environment that’s insulated from COVID-19 in Charlotte

The dramatically scaled-down Republican National Convention is still considered a “high-risk” event as delegates from all across the country travel to Charlotte this month, the RNC’s senior advisor for health and safety planning told City Council on Monday.

Dr. Jeffrey Runge, a former medical director for the Department of Homeland Security, told Charlotte officials the RNC has imposed sweeping coronavirus protocols to screen for infections and prevent possible outbreaks. That includes testing delegates for COVID-19 before they even travel to Charlotte and then again upon arrival.

But he emphasized that Charlotte is hosting the business meeting of the RNC — not the massive celebratory parties typically associated with presidential nominating conventions. RNC officials said they anticipate between 400 and 500 total attendees for an event once expected to bring 50,000 people to Charlotte that would have generated an economic boon of over $150 million.

“I’m very happy this has been scaled down,” Runge said. “This actually gets us down to a condition that we can control.”

More than 300 delegates will renominate President Donald Trump at the Charlotte Convention Center, a venue with an air-filtration system that’s close to hospital-grade quality, Runge said.

The duration of the meeting in Charlotte will be four days, from Aug. 21 to Aug. 24. Trump has not officially confirmed where he will make his acceptance speech, but he tweeted earlier Monday that it will be either at the White House or the Great Battlefield of Gettysburg, Penn.

In Charlotte, face coverings are required for delegates, who will be seated six feet apart to maintain social distancing. They’ll have to undergo regular health screenings, including “daily symptom tracking” and temperature checks, according to RNC plans.

Convention staff intend to distribute personal protective equipment to all attendees, including masks, gloves, hand sanitizer and wipes. Through a sophisticated contact tracing approach, delegates will wear special badges that record who they come into contact with and for how long — making it easier for health officials to quell possible outbreaks if someone tests positive for COVID-19, Runge said.

Mecklenburg County health and emergency management officials, in addition to Atrium Health and Novant Health, have helped to coordinate certain coronavirus measures, like on-site testing — and if needed, quarantines — for delegates and support staff. The goal is to create an insulated environment where all people associated with the convention are COVID-19 negative, Mecklenburg Public Health Director Gibbie Harris said.

“It’s not a typical convention,” Harris told City Council members. “It can’t be right now — not for our community.”

The Charlotte area continues to grapple with the highest coronavirus case levels in North Carolina. There have been 22,304 coronavirus cases and 239 related deaths among Mecklenburg residents as of Monday afternoon, officials said.

Indoor gatherings are limited to 10 people under Phase Two of Gov. Roy Cooper’s reopening plan, which now spans through at least Sept. 11. That restriction will be loosened for the RNC, the state’s health director said Friday, making the RNC the largest sanctioned event in Charlotte since the pandemic began, officials said.

“We understand that some events necessary to conduct official convention business may require measures that would not be allowed for a normal event,” Dr. Elizabeth Tilson told RNC officials. “Therefore, in the spirit of accommodating the unique interests and needs of the convention, we have expressed a willingness to flexibly enforce certain ... public health measures.”

The RNC has imposed tight restrictions on breakfast and lunch meals to limit exposure risk, though delegates will be allowed to venture into uptown and elsewhere for dinner. The health department is working with restaurants that may see an influx of out-of-town patrons, Harris said.

Possible protests

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Johnny Jennings told City Council he expects the convention will still draw demonstrators. Yet it’s difficult to predict crowd sizes, Jennings said, with no presidential or vice presidential visits anticipated in Charlotte for now.

“It’s a little bit different this year ... but we are going to be appropriately staffed,” Jennings said. “Of course with a scaled-down event, we have scaled down the number of resources that we have. I feel very comfortable with what we have.”

Harris said Mecklenburg plans to distribute face masks to protesters, a strategy that led to low virus transmission during racial justice protests earlier this summer.

Unlike the Democratic National Convention in 2012, there are no designated protest areas for the RNC, Jennings said. Instead, people “will have freedom” to move around uptown, he said.

Federal law enforcement agencies will assist CMPD, though Jennings declined to disclose the scope of security efforts. Beyond what’s already covered in the federal security grant, Charlotte would likely be reimbursed for additional costs tied to demonstrations, assistant city manager Angela Charles said.

A security perimeter would surround the Charlotte Convention Center. Drones are prohibited from flying in the area on Aug. 24, officials announced Monday.

This story was originally published August 10, 2020 at 9:48 PM with the headline "A ‘high-risk’ event: RNC creating environment that’s insulated from COVID-19 in Charlotte."