WASHINGTON--Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders said on Monday they were consulting with public health experts about coronavirus risks in planning their next campaign moves, as election officials in upcoming primary states urged people to consider voting early.
Neither Sanders, a senator from Vermont, nor Biden, the former vice president, has called off a major rally because of the outbreak that has sickened more than 110,000 people and killed almost 4,000 globally, although public health officials have urged people at risk for contracting the disease to avoid large gatherings. There have been 605 confirmed cases in the United States, with 22 deaths.
The winner of the Democratic nomination will take on Republican President Donald Trump in the Nov. 3 general election. Trump has said he would not stop holding campaign rallies.
"Every organization in America is taking a hard look at what the coronavirus means for their operations, and yes, that’s true of our campaign, as well," Sanders told a coronavirus roundtable in Michigan, one of six states that vote on Tuesday in the next round of the state-by-state nominating competition. "We do not hold a rally without first conferring with local public health officials.”
Biden told NBC on Monday he would consider calling off rallies if health authorities warned they were too risky "I'm looking to the CDC for advice on that," Biden said, referring to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We're going to follow the recommendations of the experts ... and if they conclude that there shouldn't be big indoor rallies, then we'll stop big indoor rallies."
At a rally in Detroit on Monday, Biden's campaign provided hand sanitizer to attendees and press.
A "Women for Trump" bus tour set to be led by the president's daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, was canceled on Monday, because of scheduling issues, his campaign said. The New York Times reported that sources close to the campaign said the cancellation was spurred by concerns over the coronavirus.
Several of the states holding nominating contests in coming days have adopted measures aimed at protecting voters from contracting or spreading the virus. Florida's government urged voters to consider voting early for its March 17 Democratic presidential nominating contest, and Arizona braced for the possibility of poll workers staying home that day.
In Michigan, which votes on Tuesday, officials told poll workers to step up plans to sanitize voting booths and other equipment. Washington state - the hardest-hit state in the country - caught a break because its Tuesday contest is vote-by-mail.
