Name: First 2020 presidential debate will be in Cleveland
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First 2020 presidential debate will be in Cleveland

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NEW!15,940sharesCLEVELAND, Ohio -- The first 2020 presidential debate will take place in Cleveland, hosted by Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic.The partnership stepped in after the University of Notre Dame withdrew from hosting the Sept. 29 debate because of “the complexities COVID-19 created for its fall semester,” according to a press release. The debate will take place at the Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion, part of the Health Education Campus.Whether or not there might be an audience for the debate “will depend on the status of the pandemic as the event moves closer.”The 477,000-square-foot pavilion is a collaborative learning space for students from CWRU’s nursing, dental and medical schools. The joint project between the university and the Cleveland Clinic opened in the summer of 2019.The Cleveland Clinic has served as the health security adviser for the Commission on Presidential Debates on all of the fall’s debates.“Case Western Reserve also is deep in COVID-19 preparations, but the partnership with Cleveland Clinic – and the (health education campus’s) distance from the university’s main campus – made co-hosting more feasible,” the release reads.University of Notre Dame President Rev. John Jenkinsthat the restrictions on the event because of the coronavirus, though necessary, diminished the educational value of hosting.“The inevitable reduction in student attendance in the debate hall, volunteer opportunities and ancillary educational events undermined the primary benefit of hosting — to provide our students with a meaningful opportunity to engage in the American political process,” President Rev. John Jenkins wrote.The University of Michigan withdrew from hosting the Oct. 15 debate in June because of the concerns surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. The debate moved to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County in Miami, Florida, after the university’s president said the restrictions made the event too difficult to host, .Large-scale events scheduled during the coronavirus pandemic have been overwhelmingly canceled. Concerts have not resumed. The Rock &amp; Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony set for November was canceled. Both Biden and Sanders campaign rallies scheduled to take place on the same day in Cleveland at the beginning of the pandemic were also canceled.One of the first restrictions put in place in Ohio was on large-scale gatherings, defined as more than 100 people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defined a risk scale for mass gatherings. Both the higher and highest risk categories include in-person gatherings where attendees travel from outside the local area. Ohio is currently under a travel advisory, where people from states with a positive test rate of 15% or more should quarantine for two weeks upon arrival. For events deemed “higher” risk, according to the CDC, gatherings must be adapted to allow individuals to remain spaced at least 6 feet apart. “Highest risk” is designated for large in-person gatherings where it’s difficult for individuals to remain at least six feet apart. The World Health Organization defines a "mass gathering" as "if the number of people it brings together is so large that it has the potential to strain the planning and response resources of the health system in the community where it takes place." That includes factors like spacing and duration. Presidential debates last 90 minutes, but crowds filing in and out could prolong exposure.The World Health Organization does not recommend all international mass gatherings be canceled, according to its website. Instead, the organization defers to those planning the event and local public health officials. "These authorities and stakeholders are in the best position to assess the level of stress the event might place on the local health system and emergency services – and whether this level of stress is acceptable in the current situation."Though specifics on how organizers will mitigate the risk of the coronavirus pandemic during the event were not released on Monday, the hospital will control audience size, distance between seats and sanitation. “We are all challenged with adapting to a ‘new normal’ and safety is key as we all face this pandemic together,” said Dr. James Merlino, Chief Clinical Transformation Officer at Cleveland Clinic and Chief Health Security Adviser to the Commission on of Presidential Debates for the 2020 general election, in a press release.“The Cleveland Clinic has been focused on understanding, containing and preparing for COVID-19. We are sharing our knowledge and advising various industries to help keep our communities safe as we enter into this next phase of COVID-19 response.”Officials from Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic were not available to further comment on Monday evening. Holding a presidential debate without an audience would align the commission with professional sports -- baseball games are being played, but without fans. But after eleven Miami Marlins players and two coaches tested positive for the virus after league play commenced, Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist and a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said a presidential debate could hold a number of risk factors. Aside from the event potentially being indoors and with a crowd, the emotion at a political debate could cause people to scream, which would lead to droplets potentially carrying COVID-19 farther. “This has all the features of a COVID horror story,” he said.The Cleveland Clinic partnership is promising, though, since medical professionals can advise on the safety of the event, Chin-Hong said. Removing the crowd or spacing attendees out would reduce the risk, as would upping sanitation measures and providing hand sanitizer.People often focus on crowd size when assessing these events for coronavirus risk, Chin-Hong said, but what could be more important is requiring attendees to wear masks or face shields. The candidates could wear face coverings as well.Chin-Hong underscored that wearing a mask can significantly reduce the risk of coronavirus and make crowds less dangerous, and that requiring masks would send a strong signal to the public.“I think the rest of America will be looking very closely at this,” he said, adding it also would set the tone for subsequent debates like in Nashville or Miami.Cleveland has played host to multiple debates. In the 2016 election cycle, Republicans chose the city as the site of their first forum. In 2008, Democratic Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton took the stage as their rivalry intensified heading into Super Tuesday. Case Western Reserve University hosted Republican Vice President Dick Cheney and Democratic Sen. John Edwards for the vice presidential debate in 2004. And former Republican California Gov. Ronald Reagan delivered some of his most lasting lines in 1980 against Democratic President Jimmy Carter at Cleveland’s Public Auditorium.The 2020 debate will mark the second such forum in Ohio this election. Twelve Democrats were on stage Oct. 15, 2019, at Otterbein University, the first that featured a pared down list of candidates.Note to readers: if you purchase something through one of our affiliate links we may earn a commission.

NEW!15,940sharesCLEVELAND, Ohio -- The first 2020 presidential debate will take place in Cleveland, hosted by Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Clinic.The partnership stepped in after the University of Notre Dame withdrew from hosting the Sept. 29 debate because of “the complexities COVID-19 created for its fall semester,” according to a press release. The debate will take place at the Sheila and Eric Samson Pavilion, part of the Health Education Campus.Whether or not there might be an audience for the debate “will depend on the status of the pandemic as the event moves...

First 2020 presidential debate will be in Cleveland

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