Sanders, Biden campaigns abruptly cancel election-night rally, citing coronavirus concerns
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Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders abruptly cancelled plans for an election night rally Tuesday evening in Cleveland, Ohio out of “concern for public health and safety” amid coronavirus fears, his campaign said.
Former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign followed suit, with a campaign spokesman Kate Bedingfield saying, “In accordance with guidance from public officials and out of an abundance of caution, our rally in Cleveland, Ohio tonight is cancelled.”
Sanders, I-Vt., made the announcement about his Tuesday night event hours before polls closed, and warned that his future events could be subject to cancellation due to public safety concerns.
“Out of concern for public health and safety, we are canceling tonight’s rally in Cleveland,” the Sanders campaign spokesman, Mike Casca, said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “We are heeding the public warnings from Ohio state officials, who have communicated concern about holding large, indoor events during the coronavirus outbreak.”
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“Sen. Sanders would like to express his regret to the thousands of Ohioans who had planned to attend the event tonight,” Casca continued, adding that “all future Bernie 2020 events will be evaluated on a case by case basis.”
The announcement came the same day that multiple states are holding presidential primaries, with Michigan carrying the largest delegate prize.
Sanders and his rival in the Democratic content, former Vice President Joe Biden, have been looking ahead to Ohio, which holds its primary March 17.
Earlier in the day, Sanders said that the coronavirus threat was being taken “very seriously,” while taking a swipe at President Trump.
“We take this issue, unlike the President, very, very seriously,” Sanders said. “What we are doing, wherever we go, whenever we do rallies, we consult with public health officials.”
He added: “Because the last thing in the world we will ever wanna do is put anybody in danger.”
Sanders’ announcement comes amid the outbreak of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, which has riled the nation in recent days.
Over the weekend, it was revealed that an attendee of the Conservative Political Action Conference, CPAC, held from Feb. 26 to Feb. 29 outside of Washington, D.C. had tested positive with the virus. The individual is said to be a New York City-based doctor, and is currently receiving treatment at a hospital in Englewood, N.J.
The top levels of government on the GOP side – President Trump, Vice President Pence, cabinet officials, top-ranking lawmakers – attended CPAC. Staffers quickly worked to figure out who may have come in contact with the still-unnamed person. These discussions so far have led to several lawmakers going into self-quarantine as a precaution, amid assurances from organizers that nobody else has yet gotten sick from this individual.
At this time, CPAC Chairman Matt Schlapp, Rep. Doug Collins, R-Ga., Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz., Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and now-acting White House chief of staff Mark Meadows are in self-quarantine “out of an abundance of caution” after being notified by CPAC organizers that they came into contact with the ill attendee. Three senior members of Gosar’s staff are also self-quarantined. None of the lawmakers, or staffers, are known to be experiencing coronavirus symptoms at this time.
Meanwhile, the chain of events has fed speculation about whether Trump himself was at risk, as both the president and Pence attended and spoke at the conference. The White House said there is no indication that Trump or Pence was in close proximity to the stricken attendee.
The president did, however, spend time with Collins and Gaetz since CPAC. Collins shook Trump’s hand and joined him for a visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Ga., on Friday. He also met with Trump at the White House last week, several days after the Feb. 26-29 conference.
Gaetz was spotted riding on Air Force One on Monday as he learned the news. White House officials said when Gaetz learned he was in proximity to the man with coronavirus at CPAC, he sat by himself in a section of the president’s plane.
Meanwhile, Trump downplayed the threat of coronavirus on Monday, noting that the “common flu” kills thousands of Americans each year and that “life the economy go on.”
“So last year 37,000 Americans died from the common Flu. It averages between 27,000 and 70,000 per year,” Trump tweeted Monday. “Nothing is shut down, life the economy go on. At this moment there are 546 confirmed cases of CoronaVirus with 22 deaths. Think about that!”
According to the CDC, during the 2018-2019 flu season in the U.S., an estimated 35.5 million people were sick with influenza and approximately 34,200 people died from the illness.
Fox News’ Tara Prindiville contributed to this report.
Article source: https://www.foxnews.com/politics/bernie-sanders-campaign-cancels-planned-cleveland-rally-hours-beforehand-citing-coronavirus-concerns