US President Donald Trump has cancelled the Republican National Convention in Florida, amid rising coronavirus infection rates in the state.
Mr Trump had originally changed the location of the bulk of the convention to Jacksonville, Florida from Charlotte, North Carolina after disagreement with North Carolina’s governor over holding the convention during a pandemic.
But speaking in the White House on Thursday, Mr Trump said that the Jacksonville portion of the convention was now cancelled.
“The timing for this event is not right, just not right with what’s happened recently. The flare-up in Florida to have a big convention is not the right time,” he said. “I have to protect the American people. That’s what I’ve always done. That’s what I always will do. That’s what I’m about.”
The cancellation of the bulk of the convention means that Mr Trump will not accept the Republican nomination in a full convention hall as he had hoped, though he said he would deliver a speech in some form.
Florida has found itself at the epicentre of a recent surge in coronavirus cases in the United States.
The state posted 173 deaths from Covid-19 on Thursday – the highest number for one day since the pandemic started. The state also reported 10,249 new cases over a 24-hour period.
The Democratic party has already severely curtailed its planned convention in Milwaukee next month. While the presumptive nominee, Joe Biden, is expected to travel to the swing state, most of the activity will take place online across the country.
The coronavirus pandemic in an election year has severely disrupted the typical calendar of the presidential election cycle, with traditional campaign events sidelined in favour of online events.
Mr Trump cancelled his second proposed campaign rally this summer which was supposed to take place in New Hampshire earlier this month.
Record death rates
The number of Covid-19 cases in the United States surpassed four million on Thursday, with several states posting record death rates from the disease.
Florida, Alabama and California were among the states that reported their highest daily death tolls to date – a worrying sign for President Donald Trump, who has been keen to stress that the mortality rate from Covid-19 has been lower than in the spring, despite an increase in infections in some areas.
More than 143,000 people have now died in the United States from Covid-19.
Florida, which has seen a surge in cases in recent weeks, reported 173 Covid-19 deaths on Thursday – the highest number in a day since the pandemic started.
Most of the deaths and cases were in Miami-Dade County in the southern part of the state. Florida said a total of 10,249 cases of the disease had been confirmed over the previous 24-hours.
Meanwhile, the country’s most populous state, California, surpassed New York as the state with the highest number of cases – 422,000 in total.
However, its death rate is lower – just under 8,000 deaths compared to more than 32,000 pandemic-related deaths in New York. California on Wednesday announced its highly daily death toll to date, 157 fatalities.
‘Greatest threat’
Speaking at a White House briefing, Mr Trump said the virus “poses the greatest threat to our senior citizens”.
“The median age for those who die from the virus is 78 years old, and nearly half of the deaths have occurred among those living in nursing homes or long-term care facilities. That’s really something,” he said.
Responding to questions from journalists, the president said he would be happy for his son and grandchildren to return to school next month.
“I would like to see the schools open,” he said. “We have great statistics on young people and on safety. So we would like to see schools open. We want to see the economy open.”
Mr Trump predicted that “you’re going to see some very, very impressive numbers for the United States” on Covid-19.
“I think we’ve done some amazing things,” he said.
His comments came as new figures showed that jobless claims rose to 1.4 million last week, a higher figure than had been expected, raising fears about fresh economic troubles arising from the surge in cases in the south and west of the US in recent weeks.
Deployment of forces
The parent company of clothing brands Ann Taylor and Loft became the latest American retailer to file for bankruptcy. The company filed for chapter 11 protection and announced plans to close a “significant” number of stores.
Meanwhile, Mr Trump also defended his decision to deploy federal forces to Chicago, following a similar move to deploy federal agents to Portland, Oregon, this month. The Department of Justice is to send hundreds of agents to the city, which has seen a spike in gun violence in recent weeks, as well as 35 military personnel to Albuquerque in New Mexico.
Mr Trump said “murderers and violent criminals are breaking a wide range of federal laws” in several cities controlled by the rival Democratic party.
“Every American no matter their income, their race or their zip code should be able to walk their city’s streets free from violence and free from fear,” he said.
Portland mayor Ted Wheeler was among those who was sprayed with tear gas during protests on Wednesday night. Federal agents have been patrolling the streets of the western city, under orders from Washington to protect federal buildings, including the federal courthouse.
“This is clearly a waste of federal resources and it’s getting increasingly dangerous,” he said. “We did not ask the feds to be here. We do not want them here. They’re not helping the situation.”
