Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will send Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick to attend the scaled-down Republican National Convention in his place, Fox News reports.
Abbott plans to skip the RNC, which is scheduled to take place in North Carolina later this month, in order to handle the uptick of coronavirus cases in Texas.
Abbott informed Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel of his plans to send Patrick to lead the state's delegation in a letter he sent last week.
"It was an honor being selected to serve as chair of the Texas delegation for the 2020 Republican National Convention," Abbott wrote to McDaniel. "However, as we deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, my top priority remains focused on protecting the health and safety of Texans."
As of Monday, Texas health officials reported more than 453,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 7,515 deaths.