Trump scraps Republican convention in Florida due to coronavirus

US president says timing not right as cases surge in sunshine state

U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to a news conference in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S. on Thursday, July 23, 2020. Trump said he's canceling the Republican convention scheduled for next month in Jacksonville, Florida, as the coronavirus outbreak continues to grow. Photographer: Yuri Gripas/Abaca/Bloomberg
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US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would not hold a large gathering in Florida in August to accept the Republican Party's nomination, after a sharp rise in the state's coronavirus cases.

"The timing for this event is not right," Mr Trump said. "It's just not right with what’s happened recently, the flare-up in Florida. To have a big convention, it’s not the right time."

He said he would deliver an acceptance speech in a different form, possibly online.

The event was initially planned to be held in Charlotte, North Carolina, but the governor refused to guarantee Mt Trump could hold a large event.

It was then moved to Jacksonville, Florida, and scheduled for August 24 to 27.

Mr Trump said thousands of his supporters and delegates wanted to attend the events in Florida, but he "just felt it was wrong” to take them to a virus hotspot.

Some of them would have faced quarantine requirements when they returned to their home states.

“We didn’t want to take any chances,” Mr Trump said.

Florida has recently experienced a surge in Covid-19 cases, which topped four million in the US on Thursday.