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President Donald Trump, who publicly identified the affected Pence aide, said he was “not concerned” about the spread of the virus at the White House. However, officials said they were intensifying security protocols for the complex.
Pence’s spokeswoman Katie Miller, who tested positive on Friday, had been in recent contact with Pence but not the president. She is married to Stephen Miller, one of Trump’s top advisers. The White House had no immediate comment on whether Stephen Miller had been evaluated or was still working at the White House.
Katie Miller had tested negative Thursday, the day before her positive result.
“That is why the whole concept of evidence is not necessarily great,” Trump said. “The tests are perfect, but something can happen between a test where it is good and then something happens.”
The positive test for Pence’s chief aide came a day after White House officials confirmed that a member of the military serving as one of Trump’s valets had tested positive for COVID-19.
Six people who had been in contact with Miller were scheduled to fly Pence to Des Moines, Iowa, on Air Force Two on Friday. They were removed from the flight just before it took off, according to a senior administration official.
None of those people exhibited symptoms, but they were asked to disembark so they could be evaluated “as a precaution,” a senior administration official told reporters traveling with Pence.
The six later tested negative, the White House said.
The official said staff in the west wing are tested regularly, but much of Pence’s staff, who work alongside in the Executive Office building, are performed less frequently. Katie Miller was not on the plane and had not been scheduled to be on the trip.
Pence, who is evaluated regularly, was evaluated Friday. Miller tweeted that he was “fine” and hoped to return to work.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said the administration was stepping up mitigation efforts already recommended by public health experts and taking other unspecified precautions to ensure the safety of the president.
Meadows said the White House was “probably the safest place to go,” but was reviewing additional steps to keep Trump and Pence safe.
The White House requires daily temperature checks of anyone entering the White House complex and has encouraged social distancing among those who work in the building. Management has also conducted regular deep cleaning of all workspaces. Anyone approaching the President and Vice President is screened daily by COVID-19.
“We have already put in place some protocols that we are obviously observing to make sure that the president and his immediate staff are kept safe. But it’s not just the president, it’s all the workers who are here … on a daily basis, “Meadows said.
The Trump valet case marked the first known case in which a person who has approached the president has tested positive since several people present at his private Florida club were diagnosed with COVID-19 in early March. The valet tested positive on Wednesday.
The White House was moving to shore up its protection protocols to protect the nation’s political leaders. Trump said some employees who interact closely with him would now be evaluated daily. Pence told reporters on Thursday that he and Trump would also be screened daily.
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