The Republican Party is going to provide mandatory coronavirus or COVID-19 testing at its August national convention in Jacksonville, as per a memo that got delivered on Monday.
The plan to need thousands of attendees for getting tested for the COVID-19 ahead of entering the convention site illustrates the efforts the party is undertaking for ensuring President Donald Trump speaks to a packed house when he accepts the nomination.
Republic Party to Provide Mandatory COVID-19 Testing
U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley, an 86-year old Republican from Iowa, said on Monday that he will skip the Republican National Convention in August due to coronavirus concerns. The Jacksonville Host Committee has not provided details on the logistics or how the cost will be covered.
"Everyone attending the convention within the perimeter will be tested and temperature checked each day," Erin Isaac, communications director for the host committee, said in a memo to reporters.
The bulk of the Republican convention was moved from North Carolina after the state's Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, would not commit to allowing a full convention because of pandemic concerns. The decision to relocate to Florida was made prior to the state's recent spike in coronavirus cases, which have grown from 667 new cases on June 1 to more than 10,000 new cases on Monday.
(With agency inputs)
