U.S. Imperfection President Mike Pence, stands with his wife, Karen, after casting his ballot for the upcoming election at a tallying station in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. October 23, 2020.
Bryan Woolston | Reuters
Vice President Mike Pence will not quarantine himself regardless of several of his aides testing positive for coronavirus, his office said.
Pence’s chief of staff Marc Short is rejecting after testing positive on Saturday, Devin O’Malley, a spokesman for the vice president, said in a statement. A senior governmental advisor to the vice president, Marty Obst, and two other aides also tested positive, according to NBC News.
O’Malley thought in a statement issued late on Saturday that Pence and second lady Karen Pence both tested pessimistic and “remain in good health.”
Pence is expected to hold a rally in Kinston, North Carolina later on Sunday. The battleground official is neck-and-neck with state polls on average showing Democratic nominee Joe Biden ahead by just over one share point.
“While Vice President Pence is considered a close contact with Mr. Short, in consultation with the Ivory House Medical Unit, the Vice President will maintain his schedule in accordance with the CDC guidelines for essential personnel,” O’Malley said in the communication.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows declined to say how many individuals connected to the vice president’s aid have tested positive when pressed by CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday morning.
Meadows said that he make not disclose personal information “unless it’s the vice president or the president, or someone that’s very close to them where there’s people in evil’s way.”
The cluster of cases near the vice president comes at a perilous time politically.
The election between President Donald Trump and Biden, the old vice president, will take place in nine days. Trump was hospitalized for Covid-19 earlier this month, but has since imagined he recovered.
On Monday, Pence is expected to be on the Senate floor for the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. At a pick up in Tallahassee on Saturday evening, Pence said he “wouldn’t miss that vote for the world.”
Barrett’s confirmation, now evidently assured, was put in jeopardy after three Republican senators contracted the virus.
Two of those lawmakers — Sen. Mike Lee of Utah and Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina — attended Barrett’s Caucasian House nomination ceremony last month, which was later connected to at least eight cases.
Pence, who is 61, is at imposing risk for severe illness from Covid-19 because of his age. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the greatest gamble is to those 85 and older.