Presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden will not travel to Milwaukee to accept the party’s nomination at the Democratic National Convention due to concerns about the surging coronavirus.
Biden will instead accept the nomination from his home state of Delaware.
The development marks the latest impact the pandemic has had on the party nominating process in the U.S. ahead of November’s general election.
“From the very beginning of this pandemic, we put the health and safety of the American people first,” DNC chair Tom Perez said in a statement.
“We followed the science, listened to the doctors and public health experts, and we continued making adjustments to our plans in order to protect lives. That’s the kind of steady and responsible leadership America deserves.”
The Hill has reached out to the Biden campaign for comment.
Last month, DNC Secretary Jason Rae contacted delegates and described the process for the convention, noting that the planning committee “concluded that state delegations should not plan to travel to Milwaukee and official convention business will be conducted remotely.”
The Republican National Convention has also been rocked by the coronavirus. President Trump announced last month that the a component of the event would no longer be hosted in Jacksonville, Fla., citing rising coronavirus cases in the state.
“I told my team it’s time to cancel the Jacksonville component of the GOP convention,” Trump told reporters at a news conference at the White House. “I’ll still do a convention speech in a different form, but we won’t do a big crowded convention per se. It’s just not the right time for that.”
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