A coalition of federal and state officials found no evidence that votes were compromised or altered in last week’s presidential election, rejecting unsubstantiated claims of widespread fraud advanced by President Donald Trump and many of his supporters.
The statement late Thursday, by government and industry officials who coordinate election cybersecurity, trumpeted the Nov. 3 election as the most secure in American history. It amounted to the most direct repudiation to date of Trump’s efforts to undermine the integrity of the contest, and echoed repeated assertions by election experts and state officials over the last week that the election unfolded smoothly without broad irregularities.
It was distributed by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which spearheaded federal election protection efforts and tweeted by its director, Chris Krebs. Krebs has been vocal on Twitter in repeatedly reassuring Americans that the election was secure and that their votes would be counted.
COVID-19 cases continue to spike in the United States. Newly confirmed cases have reached an average of about 127,000 per day. The number of people hospitalized with the virus hit an all-time high of more than 65,000.
Meanwhile, public health officials are gearing up for the biggest vaccination effort in U.S. history.
The push could begin as early as next month after federal officials authorize vaccine use for high-risk groups, such as health care workers.
The virus is blamed for more than 242,000 deaths and over 10.5 million confirmed infections in the U.S., with the country facing what health experts say will be a dark winter because of disregard for mask-wearing and other precautions, the onset of cold weather and crowded holiday gatherings.
St. Thomas announced Thursday it will partner with the Minnesota Department of Health to offer free on-campus COVID-19 testing next week at the St. Paul campus.
Saliva polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests will be available on Wednesday, Nov. 18 and Thursday, Nov. 19 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Anderson Athletic and Recreation Complex Field House.
The announcement came after MDH recommended that students be tested before they return home for Thanksgiving.
Gov. Tim Walz’s Tuesday executive order encourages colleges to issue a “quiet period,” putting a hold on unnecessary in-person extracurricular activities. Starting Nov. 13, these activities will move online for the remainder of the semester except for Daily Mass, Prayer Hour and athletics. Classes will proceed as usual.
Alaina Schoenfelder can be reached at scho8369@sttthomas.edu.