Covirus 19 coronavirus: Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary tests positive

United States Vice President Mike Pence’s press secretary has the coronavirus, the White House said today, making her the second person working at the White House complex known to test positive for the virus this week.

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.

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Pence’s spokeswoman Katie Miller 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 examined or was still working outside the White House.

Katie Miller had tested negative yesterday, 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 with Pence to Des Moines, Iowa, in Air Force Two today. 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.

• Covid19.govt.nz – The official government Covid-19 advisory website

Pence, who is evaluated regularly, was also evaluated today.

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 observing, obviously, 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,” he said Meadows.

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 Thursday.

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 yesterday that he and Trump would now also be screened daily.

– AP