据“中央社”报道，美国路易斯安那州宣布，受疫情影响，该州总统初选延至6月20日，为首个宣布初选延期的州。而将于下周举行初选的4个州则发表联合声明称，选举将按计划举行。
当地时间3月3日，美国总统初选迎来“超级星期二”。图为当天在弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿的一处投票点。中新社记者 陈孟统 摄
据路透社报道，路易斯安那州表示，由于新冠疫情蔓延，将重新安排投票日程。该州州务卿凯尔•阿多(Kyle Ardoin)在记者会上说，总统初选原定4月4日举行，如今将推迟至6月20日，“以为路易斯安那州选民与选务官员的健康与安全提供最佳保护”。
亚利桑那州、佛罗里达州、伊利诺州与俄亥俄州3月17日将举行初选，这4州发表联合声明说，他们将继续举办选举，同时采取措施确保公众安全。
这4州的选务官员说：“美国人过去也曾在艰难时期参与选举，且根据我们从公共卫生官员得到的资讯，我们有信心选民能在选举中安全地投票。”
路透社分析称，路易斯安那州此举可能会给民主党带来问题。一直以来，民主党要求所有初选在6月初前举行，否则可能会失去7月参加党代表大会的党代表票。美国民主党总统竞选人乔·拜登在竞选活动上也敦促各州按计划举行初选。
美国新冠病毒检测呈阳性病例已达2204例，49人死亡。总统特朗普13日宣布，美国进入国家紧急状态。
Louisiana announced the postponement of the presidential primary
Louisiana, the first state to extend its presidential primary to June 20, has been affected by the outbreak, the Central News Agency reported. Four states, which will hold primary elections next week, issued a joint statement saying the elections will be held as planned.
On March 3 local time, the US presidential primary ushered in "Super Tuesday". The picture shows a polling place in Arlington, Virginia that day. Photo by Chen Meng, reporter of China News Agency
Louisiana said it would reschedule its vote due to the spread of the new crown, Reuters reported. Kyle Ardoin, the State Secretary of state, said in a press conference that the presidential primaries, originally scheduled for April 4, will now be postponed to June 20 "to provide the best protection for the health and safety of Louisiana voters and election officials.".
Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio will hold primary elections on March 17, and the four States issued a joint statement saying they will continue to hold elections and take measures to ensure public safety.
"Americans have also participated in elections in difficult times in the past, and based on the information we have received from public health officials, we are confident that voters will be able to vote safely in elections," said election officials in the four states
Reuters analysis said the Louisiana move could cause problems for Democrats. All along, the Democratic Party has demanded that all primary elections be held before the beginning of June, otherwise it may lose the party's vote to participate in the Party Congress in July. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden also urged states to hold primary elections as planned.
In the United States, 2204 new coronavirus positive cases have been detected and 49 people have died. President trump announced Monday that the United States is in a state of national emergency.
