To have officials say they can’t cancel or limit attendance or legally enforce social distancing measures for this SD rally of tens or hundreds of thousands of people is example of why we can’t get control of COVID. That’s what leader’s job should be. 1/x https://apple.news/AWZllgpUXSCaX6fn1lkkhrA

To say that it’s up to individuals to decide it they want to go into crowded bar and take on risk of getting infected or possibly infecting a whole lot of others is not right. We don’t say it’s up to individuals to decide if they want to drive under the influence of alcohol 2/x

SD had increase of 25% in Covid cases in last 2 weeks and has 8.7% test positivity rate - substantially above the 5% target https://www.covidexitstrategy.org  it’s possible to do so much better - some states in the 2% or less range, being above 5% means risks are high of cases surging 3/x

Beyond increasing SD risks, these kinds of large national gatherings, esp if social distancing not required and crowded indoor gatherings are part of what will happen, is that people then drive home to states around country and increase risks of spread in many states.4/x

This is not on the path that other countries have pursued to get this virus successfully under control 5/end