Trump plans rallies in Wisconsin as state becomes coronavirus hot spot. (Photo: Democracy Now)

Washington, October 1 (RHC)-- The U.S. state of Wisconsin reported a record 27 COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday amid an exponential rise in new cases.  Some Wisconsin hospitals have been waitlisting patients or sending them to other facilities as state health officials acknowledged they may need to prepare field hospitals to handle the coming surge in patients. 

One hospital in Green Bay reports it’s nearing 100% capacity, even as President Donald Trump plans campaign rallies in Green Bay and La Crosse over the weekend.

On Wednesday, Trump was in Duluth, Minnesota, for an outdoor rally where his supporters were packed shoulder to shoulder, few of them wearing masks.  An estimated 3,000 people attended — breaking state guidelines capping crowd sizes at 250, where social distancing can be maintained.

Meanwhile, a Cornell University study of millions of English-language articles points to President Trump as the most influential source of falsehoods and conspiracy theories about the pandemic.  The study’s lead author told The New York Times: “The biggest surprise was that the president of the United States was the single largest driver of misinformation around COVID.”