Pence Campaign Events in Florida Called Off as State Sees Spike in COVID-19 Cases

Vice President Mike Pence makes remarks during an event on protecting seniors with diabetes, in the Rose Garden at the White House in Washington on May 26, 2020. Win McNamee/Getty Images

Vice President Mike Pence will travel to Florida to meet with officials but the trip will no longer include campaign events, as the state sees CCP virus cases spike in recent days.

CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus cases rose on June 26 to 9,636, according to data from the Florida Department of Health. The state now has 132,545 cases of infection, including 14,136 hospitalizations, and 3,390 deaths as of Saturday.

In the wake of the surge in cases, the state’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) suspended the on-premises consumption of alcohol in all bars across the state.

However, on the same day a few hours earlier, DBPR secretary Halsey Beshears said that bars and restaurants may operate at 50 percent of their indoor capacity. While the restrictions for restaurants remained the same, it was a change for bars.

“EO-139 states restaurants & bars may operate at 50% of their indoor capacity, excluding employees. Bar areas may be open with seated service. Outdoor seating is permissible with social distancing. Stay compliant, hang in there & let’s get this right Florida,” Beshears said on Twitter.

In a later message, Beshears said that the sudden decision was taken based on evidence in relation to the spike in infections.

“We must forcefully flatten the curve,” he said in a subsequent post on Twitter. “This decision was not a knee jerk reaction, nor was it made lightly, but based on evidence and the correlation in spikes after phase 2 reopening. We will get it right, then get people back to work ASAP.”

‘An Abundance of Caution’

Pence was to embark on a bus tour, including an appearance in Lake Wales at an event organized by the pro-Trump group America First Policies billed as the “Great American Comeback tour.” The group announced that “out of an abundance of caution at this time, we are postponing the Great American Comeback tour stop in Florida. We look forward to rescheduling soon.”

Pence will, however, visit the state to meet with the governor and local health officials. But his tour will no longer include any campaign events.

The Epoch Times reached out to the Trump Campaign for confirmation but did not get a response at the time of publication.

As the number of virus cases spikes in the state, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced $250 million in funding for the Affordable Housing Coronavirus Relief Initiative on Thursday. The CARES Act funding is for rental and mortgage assistance for families in the state who have been negatively impacted by the CCP virus pandemic.

“Many families across our state have been negatively impacted by COVID-19 through no fault of their own,” DeSantis said in a statement.

“This initiative strives to provide financial assistance through multiple affordable housing programs to ensure these Floridians receive the support they need during this difficult time.”

An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Pence postponed his trip to Florida. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report