President Donald Trump has cancelled the Republican Party convention in Florida, citing the pandemic, as US coronavirus cases passed 4 million.
Photo: AFP
"It's not the right time for that," he said, adding that he would still give a convention speech in a different form.
His party's convention was due to take place in Jacksonville, Florida next month.
Ron DeSantis Photo: AFP
Trump said he had already informed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis of the decision, which comes as the United States grapples with large numbers of new Covid-19 cases outside of the Northeast, the region hit hardest in the early months of the outbreak.
Florida is now among the states with the highest number of new coronavirus cases and has seen more nearly 390,000 cases of the virus and more than 5600 deaths, according to a Reuters tally.
The state reported its largest number of deaths in a single day from the coronavirus this week.
The sheriff in Jacksonville warned this week the city was not ready for such a party jamboree.
The event was relocated from Charlotte, North Carolina, after that state imposed social distancing rules.
Although the Jacksonville events have been called off, some delegates will still gather in Charlotte.
Trump told today's White House coronavirus briefing that safety was his primary concern behind the decision.
Opinion polls suggest Trump is facing an uphill battle for a second term in office amid criticism of his handling of the pandemic.
Last month, the Democratic convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, also due to take place in August, was drastically scaled back.
Trump's challenger, Joe Biden, will be formally nominated by his party at that event.
What is the national picture?
The United States recorded more than 1000 deaths from Covid-19 for the third day in a row today, as the outbreak strained hospitals in California, Florida and Texas, according to a Reuters tally.
The rise in the US death toll has not seen back-to-back days with over 1000 lives lost since early June. Many states and local governments in May lifted restrictions and reopened beaches, restaurants and businesses, triggering a surge in cases in June and an increase in fatalities in July.
So far in July, 17 states have broken one-day records for increases in Covid-19 deaths, according to a Reuters tally.
With not all states reporting yet, deaths rose by at least 1014 to a total of 144,211 compared with a rise of 1135 yesterday and a jump of 1141 on Wednesday. Total cases across the United States surpassed 4 million and rose by at least 60,000 today.
Even though deaths are rising in the United States for a second week in a row, they remain well below levels seen in April, when 2000 people a day on average died from the virus.
Among the 20 countries with the largest outbreaks, the United States ranks sixth highest globally for deaths per capita, according to a Reuters analysis.
- BBC / Reuters