Pence, task force members isolate after exposure to virus

WASHINGTON – Vice President Mike Pence isolated himself after an assistant tested positive for the coronavirus last week, joining three of the country’s top scientists to take protective measures after possible exposure, in another clear reminder of that not even one of the safest buildings in the country is immune to the virus.

Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a Florida coronavirus response meeting at West Palm Beach International Airport on Friday, February 28, 2020, in West Palm Beach, Florida (AP Photo / Terry Renna)

An administration official said Pence is voluntarily limiting his exposure to other people. It has repeatedly been negative for COVID-19 since its exposure, but follows the advice of medical officials.

“Vice President Pence will continue to follow the advice of the White House Medical Unit and is not in quarantine,” spokesman Devin O’Malley said. “Also, Vice President Pence has tested negative every day and plans to be in the White House tomorrow.”

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a prominent member of the White House coronavirus task force, was quarantined over the weekend, along with Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Stephen Hahn.

Pence’s press secretary tested positive for the coronavirus on Friday, making her the second person working at the White House complex to test positive for the virus this week.

Pence has led the White House coronavirus workforce for more than two months. White House officials confirmed Thursday that a member of the military who was serving as one of Trump’s valets had tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.

President Donald Trump, who publicly identified the affected Pence aide as spokeswoman Katie Miller, 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 was informed of the positive test on Friday morning before leaving Washington for a day trip to Iowa.

Fauci’s institute said it has tested negative for COVID-19 and will continue to do so regularly. He added that he is considered “relatively low risk” depending on the degree of his exposure, and that he would be “taking appropriate precautions” to mitigate the risk of personal contacts while continuing to perform his duties.

While he will stay home and work remotely, Fauci will go to the White House if called and will take every precaution, the institute said.

Redfield will be “telecommuting for the next two weeks” after it was determined that he had “low risk exposure” to a person at the White House, the CDC said in a statement Saturday night. The statement said he was feeling well and has no symptoms.

Just a few hours earlier, the Food and Drug Administration confirmed that Hahn had contacted someone who tested positive and was quarantined for the next two weeks. It was negative for the virus.

All three men are slated to testify before a Senate committee on Tuesday. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, panel chair, said the White House will allow Redfield and Hahn to testify via video conference, a unique exception to the administration’s policies on hearing testimony.

The statement was issued before Fauci’s quarantine was announced.

Miller had been in recent contact with Pence but not the President and had tested negative a day earlier. 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.

CDC and the FDA will not disclose the identity of the person who tested positive and whom agency leaders contacted.

Redfield sought to use the exhibition as a teaching moment. The CDC statement says that if you must go to the White House to fulfill your responsibilities as part of the coronavirus workforce, you will follow CDC’s practices for critical infrastructure workers.

Those guidelines require Redfield and anyone who works in the task force to take their temperature and screen for symptoms every day, cover their faces, and stay away from others.

Trump balked at wearing a mask, and in a meeting with the nation’s top military leaders on Saturday night, he did not wear a mask during the brief portion that journalists were able to see. The generals around Trump were also not wearing a mask, but the participants sat within a few feet of each other.

FDA spokeswoman Stephanie Caccomo said Hahn tested negative for the virus after learning of the contact. He wrote a note to staff on Friday to alert them.

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 all were asked to disembark so tests could be done “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 is evaluated 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 president’s safety. He said the White House was “probably the safest place you can go,” but he was reviewing additional steps to keep Trump and Pence safe.

The White House requires daily temperature checks from 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.

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.

GSG

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