BackUS Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff Marc Short tests coronavirus positive
The vice president and the second lady have tested negative for Covid-19, Pence's Press Secretary Devin O'Malley said
PremiumMarc Short, chief of staff to US Vice President Mike Pence, has been diagnosed with coronavirus, the vice president's office has said in a statement, marking the second top Mike Pence aide to have contracted the deadly infection.
The vice president and the second lady have, however, tested negative for Covid-19, Pence's Press Secretary Devin O'Malley said in a statement.
“Today, Marc Short, Chief of Staff to the Vice President, tested positive for COVID-19, began quarantine and assisting in the contact tracing process," he said.
VP Pence, his wife test Covid negative
"Vice President Pence and Mrs. Pence both tested negative for COVID-19 today, and remain in good health," O'Malley said.
O'Malley further 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."
Reacting to this, US President Donald Trump said, "I did hear about it just now. I think he's quarantining. I did hear about that. He's going to be fine. But he's quarantining."
Short did not travel with Pence to Florida on 24 October, where the vice president addressed election rallies. In addition, staffers deemed close contacts with Short were pulled from the trip before departure as well, either leaving the plane or not arriving to travel.
Pence plans to continue to operate as an essential worker and plans to travel again on Sunday.
According to a CNN report, Marty Obst, a senior adviser to Pence who is not a government employee, also tested positive for coronavirus few days back.
President Trump and First Lady Melania tested positive for the virus on October 1, after one of the president's closest aides Hope Hicks had contracted the virus. Both have now recovered from the disease.
An event at the White House on September 26, for the unveiling of Trump's Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, was thought to be the root of the localised outbreak.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, former Trump counsellor Kellyanne Conway and two senators were among the people around the president who tested positive for the virus.
US Covid-19 update
Meanwhile, the United States saw a record high number of new daily Covid-19 cases for the second day in a row on Saturday, figures from Johns Hopkins University showed, as warnings grew over its spread.
The country reported 88,973 new infections between 8:30 pm Friday and 8:30 pm Saturday, the figures showed, substantially above the previous day's 79,963.
A total of 8,568,625 cases have been reported in the United States with 224,751 deaths, the highest in the world in absolute terms.
With agency inputs
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