An Arizona megachurch where President Donald Trump will hold a campaign rally has claimed it possesses technology to clear the air of the coronavirus.
This claim was made by pastor Luke Barnett at Dream City Church in a Twitter video ahead of the Tuesday rally.
“Hey, gang. We have some exciting information about what we’re doing to fight Covid-19 here at Dream City Church,” the pastor said, claiming the church is the “first” in the nation to develop technology to fight Covid-19.
This technology, called “CleanAir EXP”, was “developed by some members of our church” and made it so it could kill 99.9 per cent of the virus within 10 minutes, according to Brendon Zastrow, the church’s chief operations officer.
The technology is allegedly able to perform this feat through the ionisation of air particles, where it separates out Covid-19 from other particles and makes it inhospitable from the virus to live.
Dream City Church, located in Phoenix, released the video about the technology as it prepares for a Students for Trump rally on Tuesday and for the president to speak at the church in the afternoon. The technology, though not scientifically proven to work, aimed to lessen concerns for people choosing to attend.
“So you can know when you come here you’ll be safe and protected,” Mr Barnett said.
The church holds about 3,000 seats and was expected to fill up with events focused around the president and his campaign.
While the technology has potentially worked in a controlled laboratory setting, health experts remain unconvinced it would be able to function in that large of a venue with people packed together.
“The short answer to your question is NO, you will ABSOLUTELY NOT BE SAFE AND PROTECTED. When you are dealing with hundreds or thousands of people in an AUDITORIUM, some of whom will carry the virus,” Dr Philip Tierno, New York University clinical professor of pathology, told the Phoenix New Times in an email.
The CleanAir EXP system, built by a Phoenix-based company with the same name, uses a filter unit combined with a sensor to work alongside any building’s air-conditioning.
The product can allegedly “clean indoor air of allergens, pathogens, odours, smoke, mould, ozone and harmful chemicals,” which includes “99.9 per cent of coronavirus particles in the air’.
The company, after receiving an influx of media requests, later amended its claim to state the machine could “safely eliminate 99.9 percent of viruses and bacteria”, the Daily Beast reported.
Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego released a statement about the rally on Monday to let residents know her office did not approve of the gathering.
“The event was not sanctioned or permitted by the City of Phoenix, as the city does not permit political events. Furthermore, it does not abide by current CDC guidelines during Covid-19,” the statement read.
Attendees at the rally on Tuesday would be handed a mask at the door by staff, according to the church – a move strongly recommended by the city. Temperature checks would also be performed.
“Everyone attending tomorrow’s event, particularly any elected official, should set an example to residents by wearing a mask. This includes the president,” the mayor said in her statement.
