Chris Wallace, the Fox News host who moderated the first presidential debate of 2020 on Tuesday, said neither President Donald Trump nor Democratic nominee Joe Biden were tested by Cleveland Clinic before the event, reports The Hill.
Wallace said he was tested because he arrived days before the debate.
"They didn't arrive 'til Tuesday afternoon. So for them to get tested, there wouldn't have been enough time to have the test and have the debate at 9 o'clock that night. They didn't show up until 3, 4, 5 o'clock in the afternoon," Wallace told fellow Fox News colleague Bill Hemmer during an appearance on Hemmer's show Friday night.
"Yeah, there was an honor system when it came to the people that came into the hall from the two campaigns."
"Members of the commission were not especially happy with the fact that the presidential party was not wearing a mask. There seems to have been a disregard for the risks of this virus," Wallace said.
In a statement, Cleveland Clinic said "individuals entering the debate hall were masked and in some cases removed their masks once seated."
The clinic also noted that a clinic physician "did offer audience members masks, but some did not adhere to the requirement.”
"Most importantly, everyone permitted inside the debate hall tested negative for COVID-19 prior to entry. Individuals traveling with both candidates, including the candidates themselves, had been tested and tested negative by their respective campaigns. Based on what we know about the virus and the safety measures we had in place, we believe there is low risk of exposure to our guests. Out of an abundance of caution we are reaching out to our guests to address any questions and concerns, as well as offering testing. We will continue to monitor the information being released by the White House," the clinic said in an earlier statement.
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