President Donald Trump announced Thursday that he was scrapping the Republican nominating convention in Florida, as the number of coronavirus cases in the United States exceeded four million.
Trump said he was canceling next month's event in Jacksonville because it was not the right time to hold a "big and crowded convention."
"The timing for this event is not correct, it just isn't right with what happened recently," he said at a White House press conference.
Trump spoke a few hours after Johns Hopkins University reported that there were now more than four million cases of COVID-19 in the United States.
With a total of 4,028,741 cases and more than 144,000 deaths, the United States is by far the most affected country in the world, with Brazil and India second and third in infection numbers.
The country has seen an increase in coronaviruses, particularly in the southern and western states, and Texas, California, Alabama, Idaho and Florida announced a record one-day tolls.
Trump said the convention events would take place "online somehow."
Republican delegates who will nominate him as the party's candidate in the November election against Democrat Joe Biden will meet in North Carolina for a "reasonably quick meeting," he said.
The main reason for canceling the Jacksonville event was "security," he said.
"It is difficult for us to say that we should have a lot of people in one room and then other people should not have it," he said. "There is nothing more crowded than a convention.
"I think we are setting an example."
The Republican convention was scheduled to be held in Jacksonville from August 24 to 27, but the city has become a virus entry point.
From NDTV News
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