Vice President Pence’s chief of staff tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday, but the vice president intends to plow ahead with a busy campaign schedule, his office said.
“Today, Marc Short, Chief of Staff to the Vice President, tested positive for COVID-19, began quarantine and assisting in the contact tracing process,” Pence’s press secretary Devin O’Malley said in a statement. “Vice President Pence and Mrs. Pence both tested negative for COVID-19 today, and remain in good health.”
“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,” O’Malley said.
Short is the latest White House official to contract the virus, and he is the second person close to Pence whose case became public on Saturday. But Short is in regular contact with the vice president, increasing Pence’s risk of exposure.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines urge individuals who are considered a close contact of someone with COVID-19 to stay home for 14 days from their last contact with that individual.
Pence has maintained an aggressive travel schedule in recent weeks, and it is only expected to intensify in the final week of the campaign. He spent Saturday in Florida and will travel to North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Minnesota in the coming days, among other states.
Marty Obst, an adviser to Pence who is not a White House employee, also tested positive for the virus earlier this week, multiple outlets reported Saturday. Obst is not an administration employee and is not considered a close contact.
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JUST IN: Pence's chief of staff tests positive for COVID-19 https://t.co/KU6YbI1WrE pic.twitter.com/R1hfIRpI1e
— The Hill (@thehill) October 25, 2020
let’s not walk right past the possibility pence had it and they got it from him and have just been lying about his tests https://t.co/mZZSefVRAI
— kilgore trout, biden wi-fi switchman (@KT_So_It_Goes) October 25, 2020
Our first story on the outbreak in the VP's office, which has impacted at least 3 people > https://t.co/GVaRLNfC7c
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 25, 2020
VP Pence “is considered a close contact with Mr. Short”, according to his press secretary.
But Pence—the head of the Coronavirus task force—will not quarantine for 14 days. Instead he will “maintain his schedule.” pic.twitter.com/KTuE1qdvfU
— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) October 25, 2020
"We're rounding the turn," the president says in New Hampshire of a virus that has caused an outbreak in the vice president's office.
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) October 25, 2020
The Vice President holding campaign events is “essential.”
They should rename the last week of the campaign The March for Life. https://t.co/UT94d0rIWc
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) October 25, 2020
I used to think Pence was more sensible than Trump, but he’s gone over to the dark side too. Well, it’s too bad but Pence has ruined his future political career. I doubt too many people outside the Trump cult will ever trust him again.
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