RNC Scales Back for Health Concerns

As COVID-19 cases continue to skyrocket in the sunshine state, plans for the Republican National Convention are still underway to be held in Jacksonville on August 24^th, 25^th and the 26^th. However, in an email sent out by the Jacksonville 2020 Host Committee, it was revealed that the convention “will be limited to regular delegates only. Moreover, “for the final day, when President Trump (R) will publicly accept the nomination, we plan that each delegate, their guest, and alternate delegates will be permitted to attend.”

In terms of the health protocols that they will be following, the Committee explained that they “plan to implement a variety of health protocols in order to ensure a safe event,” noting that “this plan includes but is not limited to on-site temperate checks, available PPE, aggressive sanitizing protocols, and available COVID-19 testing.”

The email was sent by Erin Isaac, the Communications Director, and it comes after much debate has hit the political arena over whether or not the convention should still take place with people attending.

Ronna McDaniel (R), the RNC Chairwoman, added that “when we made these changes, we had hoped to be able to plan a traditional convention celebration to which we are all accustomed. However, adjustments must be made to comply with state and local health guidelines.”

On Wednesday, Florida reported more than 10,000 cases of COVID-19, and 420 cases were reported in Jacksonville.

Initially, the event was planned to be large in scale, but it has since been scaled back to an outdoor event, which is something that Vice President Mike Pence (R) hinted when speaking to reporters this month by saying that they would "put the health of everyone participating first."