Democratic Debate Moved From Phoenix To DC Over Virus Concerns

WASHINGTON, DC — Sunday's Democratic presidential debate between former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders will not be held in Phoenix after the Democratic National Committee made the call to move the event to Washington, D.C. amid growing concerns over the new coronavirus.

The party had previously announced the debate would take place without a live audience. In addition, Univision anchor Jorge Ramos will no longer moderate the debate because he was in due to possible exposure to the new coronavirus.

The decision comes as mounting fears over the new virus, officially called COVID-19, prompt cancellations and closures throughout the United States. The political realm is no exception.

On Tuesday, both Biden and Sanders canceled evening presidential rallies in Cleveland due to concerns over coronavirus. President Donald Trump also announced Thursday he would be putting his trademark rallies on hold., according to AP.

Sunday's event will be the first one-on-one debate between Biden and Sanders following primaries in six states earlier this week as well as on Super Tuesday.

This week's primaries were the first in the newly configured, two-man race. Biden now holds a substantial, 161-delegate lead, a dramatic reversal after his campaign hadn't won a single primary in three starts and appeared on the brink of collapse before his South Carolina and Super Tuesday surges.

While acknowledging his perhaps insurmountable deficit in the Democratic race, Sanders vowed Wednesday to press ahead with his presidential campaign, at least long enough to debate Biden this weekend and try to force him to answer questions about economic inequality and the country's fraying social safety net.

The choice to forego a live audience at Sunday's debate was made Tuesday. DNC Communications Director Xochitl Hinojosa said the decision was made "at the request of both campaigns and out of an abundance of caution.”

Sunday's debate will now be held at CNN's studio in D.C. It is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET and will be aired on CNN, CNN en Español, CNN International and Univision. The debate will stream live in its entirety, without requiring log-in to a cable provider, on CNN.com's homepage