VP Pence, Wife Test Negative For Coronavirus After Staffer Tested Positive
Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen have tested negative for coronavirus, a White House spokeswoman said.
Katie Miller, the vice president’s press secretary, wrote in a post on Twitter on Saturday that she was “pleased to report” that tests for the Pences “came back negative.”
Pleased to report that the COVID-19 test results came back negative for both Vice President @Mike_Pence and Second Lady @KarenPence.
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The vice president said on Saturday that he would be tested for the coronavirus after a person in his office tested positive for the virus earlier last week.
“While the White House doctor has indicated that he has no reason to believe I was exposed and no need to be tested, given the unique position I have as vice president and as leader of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, both I and my wife will be tested for the coronavirus later this afternoon,” Pence said at a White House press briefing.
Pence said the person in his office who tested positive is recovering. “I am pleased to report he’s doing well,” Pence said on Friday. “He had mild cold-like symptoms for about a day and a half. He has not been to the White House since Monday. Neither the president nor I had direct contact with that staff person.”
The vice president also said neither he nor President Trump had any contact with his staffer. Pence also said that “contract tracing” was conducted, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control.
Trump took his own test March 14, which came back negative.
The president’s test came after news broke that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro tested positive for coronavirus. Bolsonaro visited Mar-a-Lago and met with Trump and his administration and family the weekend before, and also had dinner together. He later tweeted out that his second test came back negative.
“The White House is aware of public reports that a member of the Brazilian delegation‘s visit to Mar-a-Lago last weekend tested positive for COVID-19; confirmatory testing is pending,” White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said in a statement to the press. “Exposures from the case are being assessed, which will dictate next steps. Both the President and Vice President had almost no interactions with the individual who tested positive and do not require being tested at this time.
“As stated before, the White House Medical Unit and the United States Secret Service has been working closely with various agencies to ensure every precaution is taken to keep the First & Second Families, and all White House staff healthy,” she added. “To reiterate CDC guidelines, there is currently no indication to test patients without symptoms, and only people with prolonged close exposure to confirmed positive cases should self-quarantine.”
Also on March 14, The White House began taking the temperature of people “in close contact” with President Trump or Vice President Pence, including reporters who are attending a briefing on the coronavirus.
“Out of an abundance of caution, temperature checks are now being performed on any individuals who are in close contact with the President and Vice President,” Deputy Press Secretary Judd Deere said in a statement.
