Vice President Mike Pence will continue his campaign travel as an “essential” worker after his chief of staff, Marc Short, and other aides tested positive for the coronavirus, his office said.
Mr. Pence is scheduled Sunday to be in North Carolina after Mr. Short’s diagnosis was confirmed and disclosed late Saturday.
The chief of staff will quarantine under guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and assist with the contact-tracing process.
“Vice President Pence and Mrs. Pence both tested negative for COVID-19 today, and remain in good health,” Pence spokesman Devin O’Malley said. “While Vice President Pence is considered a close contact with Mr. Short, in consultation with the White House Medical Unit, the vice president will maintain his schedule in accordance with the CDC guidelines for essential personnel.”
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said Mr. Short is “doing well.”
“Hopefully the prognosis will be really good,” he told reporters Sunday.
Asked about Mr. Pence’s schedule, Mr. Meadows said: “He was cleared by the doctors to travel.”
The New York Times reported that Pence adviser Marty Obst and three other Pence staffers had tested positive, raising new questions about safeguards within the White House for staving off the pathogen.
Earlier this month, President Trump; first lady Melania Trump; their son, Barron; and several White House aides contracted the virus.
The president recovered and resumed a busy campaign schedule of packed rallies across the country, drawing a contrast to his Democratic opponent, Joseph R. Biden, who conducts socially distanced events.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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