The Democratic National Committee announced on Thursday that it was postponing the party's national convention until the week of August 17 because of the coronavirus.

The previous day, former vice president Joe Biden said he thought the convention should be delayed. Biden currently leads the delegate count in the 2020 Democratic primary.

Thousands were scheduled to attend the quadrennial gathering in July, at which the Democratic party formally chooses its nominee for president.

The decision comes after the coronavirus already radically altered the Democratic primary schedule.

Several states have postponed their primaries out of concerns that in-person elections could not safely be held while complying with health guidelines to avoid large gatherings.

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The Democratic Party announced on Thursday that it will postpone the Democratic National Convention to the week of August 17 because of the coronavirus. It was originally scheduled to take place in July.

"In our current climate of uncertainty, we believe the smartest approach is to take additional time to monitor how this situation unfolds so we can best position our party for a safe and successful convention," Joe Solmonese, CEO of the Democratic National Convention Committee, said in a statement.

He added, "During this critical time, when the scope and scale of the pandemic and its impact remain unknown, we will continue to monitor the situation and follow the advice of health care professionals and emergency responders."

The previous day, former Vice President Joe Biden called for the convention to be delayed until August. He currently leads the delegate count in the 2020 Democratic primary, ahead of the only other remaining contender, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

"I doubt whether the Democratic convention is going to be able to be held in mid-July, early July," Biden said on The Tonight Show. "I think it's going to have to move into August."

Thousands of delegates, journalists, politicians, operatives, and more had originally planned to descend on the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from July 13 to 16 to anoint their party's nominee for president.

But public health officials and the Centers for Disease Control have called for social distancing procedures and discouraged gatherings of 10 people or greater to slow the spread of the coronavirus, making the packed, chaotic conditions of a national party convention untenable.

In March, the New York Times reported that the Democratic party was "exploring a range of contingency options" in the event that the convention could not be held by traditional means.

The Democratic primary process leading up to the convention had already been radically disrupted due to the coronavirus. Several states postponed their scheduled primaries until June out of concern that officials could not safely hold in-person elections.

Read more: About 90% of all Americans have been ordered to stay at home. This map shows which cities and states are under lockdown.