JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (WSVN) — The Republican National Convention was moved from North Carolina to Florida following a disagreement between organizers and North Carolina’s governor over coronavirus concerns, but the former governor of the Sunshine State has suggested attendees will still need to wear face masks.
President Donald Trump will be accepting his party’s nomination in his new home state, but U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., one of his strong supporters, said the increased numbers of the novel coronavirus in the state means convention goers should plan to wear masks in August.
Scott addressed the matter during an interview on CNBC, Monday morning.
“You have to do this safely, you’ve got to do this. People need to wear masks, you have to social distance,” he said. “You’ve got to do this in a manner that no one gets sick.”
The convention, set to take place Aug. 24-27, was originally scheduled to be held solely in Charlotte, but the Trump administration pushed for a change of venue after North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper raised concerns about social distancing.
When Cooper, a Democrat, said data on coronavirus cases would dictate social distancing and not Trump’s desire for a big convention, the search was on for a new host state.
“Unfortunately, you have a governor there who’s not willing to say yes,” said White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
“We’ll see how it all works out, but the governor doesn’t want to give an inch,” said Trump, “and what he’s doing is losing hundreds of millions of dollars for his state.”
Some convention events will still take place in Charlotte in order to fulfill contractual obligations to hold it there.
Florida’s junior senator, meanwhile, took the opportunity to urge visitors to be careful at the convention.
“Let’s try to get back to normal as fast as soon as possible, but let’s do it in a safe manner,” said Scott.
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