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Trump official: Unclear if RNC can be safely held in Florida:
A top Trump administration health official says it is not clear whether it will be safe to hold the Republican National Convention (RNC) in Jacksonville next month as Florida sees record numbers of coronavirus cases.
The comments on Sunday came a month after Republican officials moved the event from North Carolina over a dispute over health precautions.
Stephen Hahn, the Food and Drug Administration commissioner, also refused to confirm President Donald Trump's claim that 99 percent of coronavirus cases were harmless and called the situation a "serious problem".
With record numbers of people testing positive for the virus in Jacksonville and across Florida, Hahn was asked if it would be safe to hold the typically large RNC gathering in just seven weeks.
On Saturday, Florida reported a new record of nearly 11,500 new coronavirus cases, amid a surge in cases in western and southern states. To date, nearly 130,000 people have died in the US amid 2.83 million cases.
"I think it's too early to tell," Hahn said on CNN's State of the Union programme. "We will have to see how this unfolds in Florida and elsewhere around the country."
The Republican Party in June announced it was moving most of the convention activities to Jacksonville from Charlotte after a battle over coronavirus safety concerns with North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, a Democrat.
[...] Trump has been known to thrive on large crowds at his campaign rallies and has not embraced masks or social distancing measures at events since the country began reopening from the coronavirus shutdown.
The president has also repeatedly sought to minimise the jump in confirmed cases and claimed without evidence in a July Fourth speech that 99 percent of cases in the United States were "totally harmless".
(Score: 5, Touché) by Grishnakh on Wednesday July 08 2020, @04:59AM (8 children)
Why not just not worry about coronavirus, and hold the RNC there anyway? After all, Trump himself said it was a "liberal hoax", and all his followers still think it's "just a cold". So what are they worried about?
From the summary: "Trump has been known to thrive on large crowds at his campaign rallies and has not embraced masks or social distancing measures at events since the country began reopening from the coronavirus shutdown." Ok, so what's the problem then? Why is the Trump Administration even worried about this?
(Score: 3, Insightful) by c0lo on Wednesday July 08 2020, @05:08AM (5 children)
Because Florida can go in lockdown one day before the event?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 3, Funny) by istartedi on Wednesday July 08 2020, @05:59AM
Then we could get Florida saying it's state's rights, and Trump saying it's not about state's rights. Time to check my popcorn futures.
Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
(Score: 2) by MostCynical on Wednesday July 08 2020, @05:59AM (1 child)
better the day before than a week after?
"I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
(Score: 2) by c0lo on Wednesday July 08 2020, @06:07AM
Safer. Less entertaining, tho'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday July 09 2020, @01:15AM (1 child)
>Because Florida can go in lockdown one day before the event?
Isn't the Florida governor a Republican, and also a strong Trump ally? Why would he put his state into lockdown when this would make Trump look bad?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday July 09 2020, @03:11AM
Uncontrollable rioting?
(Score: 4, Interesting) by bussdriver on Wednesday July 08 2020, @05:04PM (1 child)
I'm not so big on preventing fools from harming themselves but when they harm others that is a problem! I have a relative in a form of prison because a Trumptard insisted on going out, got sick and died 3 days later but infected the retirement home so everybody there has been trapped in their rooms as it spread around killing people. So far, the rooms next to hers have been emptied and it seems to have hopped over her and she has many of the bad preexisting conditions - it will kill her. So much for a peaceful death watching TV and visits with relatives.
(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday July 09 2020, @01:17AM
Look, I'm sorry about your relative, and if it isn't completely obvious, I'm on the side of science and reason, not Trump. However, I'm looking at this from the point-of-view of the Trump administration and his countless supporters who happily elected him and who continue to back him despite all that's happened, and who, IMO, will likely succeed in re-electing him.