Joseph R. Biden Jr. is drastically modifying his campaign schedule in the coming days in response to mounting anxieties about the coronavirus, trading traditional get-out-the-vote-style gatherings for “virtual events,” his campaign announced Wednesday.
The move marked the beginning of an extraordinary new chapter in an already tumultuous presidential race: campaigning amid a pandemic.
Mr. Biden’s campaign had previously canceled an event slated for Thursday in Tampa, Fla., as well as a Cleveland rally on Tuesday night. Now, a Friday event in Chicago and a Monday stop in Miami will be turned into “virtual events,” the former vice president’s team said in a statement, hours after rolling out a “Public Health Advisory Committee” to guide the campaign that included several prominent former Obama administration officials.
“We have been and will continue to consult with relevant officials, including our recently announced Public Health Advisory Committee, regarding steps the campaign should take to minimize health risks for staff and supporters,” the statement said. “As a result of those conversations and at the request of elected officials in Illinois and Florida, we will no longer hold large crowd events on Friday and Monday in those states.”
The statement said that additional information about the “virtual events” and future events would soon be released. The announcement also comes before Mr. Biden is slated to deliver an address about the coronavirus on Thursday.
The new approach was the first sign of how Mr. Biden’s team might seek to adjust amid the perils of the coronavirus outbreak. The disease appears to be particularly dangerous for older people, and Mr. Biden, 77, tends to attract older Americans among the crowds at his events.
Senator Bernie Sanders, 78, also canceled a rally in Cleveland on Tuesday.
A number of Mr. Biden’s donors and supporters, while thrilled about his latest string of victories in a series of Tuesday primaries, have also been quietly concerned about how the outbreak of the coronavirus might affect campaign events.
“They put people’s lives at risk when you put more than 200 people, maybe even 100 people, in a room,” said South Carolina State Senator Dick Harpootlian, a Biden supporter, adding that Mr. Sanders, who favors large rallies, should consider those risks as well.
He tossed out a handful of his own suggestions for campaigning amid coronavirus. “You’re going to see more use of conference calls, more use of video conferencing, all of those sorts of things,” he said.
Instead of campaigning in Tampa on Thursday, Mr. Biden will discuss combating the coronavirus in Wilmington, Del. Voters who support Mr. Biden often cite his experience as vice president and a former senator, and his allies see a strong response to this global health crisis as an opportunity to cast Mr. Biden as a steady, reassuring hand.
The announcement of his new advisory committee — with members including Vivek Murthy, a former Surgeon General of the United States, and Ezekiel J. Emanuel, a prominent oncologist and a vice provost at the University of Pennsylvania — also seemed designed to project calm and competence amid great national uncertainty.