Pence continues campaign as staff are affected by COVID-19

US Vice President Mike Pence runs from his plane to the podium as a Secret Service agent keeps up with him as they arrive for a rally in Kinston, North Carolina, USA, October 25, 2020. REUTERS / Jonathan Drake

WILMINGTON – Vice President Mike Pence campaigned Sunday despite a COVID-19 outbreak among his aides, and President Donald Trump claimed the United States set records for daily infections, prompting Democratic challenger Joe Biden to impeach Trump. to surrender to the pandemic.

With nine days left before the November 3 election, the White House cited Pence’s status as an “essential worker” as justification for his campaign trip despite exposure to his chief of staff, Marc Short, who tested positive for the Saturday.

Several senior Pence advisers also tested positive for COVID-19, the White House chief of staff said.

A spokesman for the vice president said Saturday night that Pence and his wife had tested negative. Pence addressed a rally in Kinston, North Carolina, on Sunday and will be in Hibbing, Minnesota, on Monday.

The United States recorded its highest number of new COVID-19 cases in the past two days: about 84,000 on Friday and about 79,900 on Saturday. The pandemic, which has caused an estimated 225,000 deaths in the United States and left millions of Americans out of work, remains front and center in the presidential race.

As of Sunday night, 59,399,395 voters had already cast their ballots, according to the University of Florida’s US Elections Project.

Even as the new coronavirus emerged in many parts of the United States, Trump said at a rally at the New Hampshire airport: “There is no nation in the world that has recovered as we have recovered.”

“We are improving, we are turning around, we have the vaccines, we have everything. Even without the vaccines, we are rounding off the turn, ”Trump told his supporters, many of whom do not wear protective masks or follow social distancing recommendations.

While numerous COVID-19 vaccines are in development, none have been approved for use in the United States.

“We are not going to control the pandemic. We are going to monitor the fact that we receive vaccines, therapies and other areas of mitigation, “White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told CNN’s” State of the Union “program.

In a statement issued by his campaign, Biden took advantage of those comments, saying that Meadows “shockingly admitted this morning that the administration has given up even trying to control this pandemic, that they have given up their basic duty to protect the American people. . “

“This was not a slip of the Meadows, it was a sincere recognition of what President Trump’s strategy has clearly been since the beginning of this crisis: wave the white flag of defeat and hope that, by ignoring it, the virus would simply disappear. . It hasn’t and it won’t, “added Biden.

The outbreak among Pence’s aides marked the latest COVID-19 cases in the White House, which have included Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, her son Barron, and numerous aides and associates. The president was hospitalized for three nights this month after contracting COVID-19.

The new infections offered a reminder of how Trump and his allies have downplayed advice from public health experts to wear masks and adhere to social distancing guidelines to combat the transmission of COVID-19.

Trump campaigns in Maine

On Sunday, Trump paid a surprise visit to an apple orchard near Bangor, Maine, where he was greeted by hundreds of supporters alerted to the event by a local newspaper.

Maine and Nebraska are the only states that divided their electoral votes. Trump lost Maine in 2016 and is behind Biden by about 10 percentage points this time, according to opinion polls. But he got a vote in the Electoral College there in 2016 by winning one of his two constituencies.

“Last time, we got a section. Let’s find the other section, ”Trump told the crowd.

Biden had no campaign events scheduled for Sunday. The former vice president leads national opinion polls, but the battles in battlefield states that could decide the outcome seem closer.

Meadows told reporters that White House doctors cleared Pence to travel after Short tested positive.

When asked why Pence was not following the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines to self-quarantine for 14 days after such exposure, Meadows on Sunday cited the vice president’s status as “personal. essential”.

The CDC guidance states: “To ensure continued operations of essential functions, CDC advises that critical infrastructure workers may be allowed to continue working after possible exposure to COVID-19, provided they remain asymptomatic and additional precautions are in place to protect them and the community. “The CDC guide does not mention political campaigns.

Explaining why the Trump campaign does not require people who attend rallies to wear masks, Meadows said the campaign offered masks to attendees, but “we live in a free society.”

Biden’s running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, took four days off the campaign this month after an aide tested positive for COVID-19.

Speaking in Detroit, Harris criticized Pence for continuing to travel, saying, “I should follow the guidelines.”

Trump has mocked Biden for wearing a protective mask.

Infectious disease expert Dr. Sandra Nelson, from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, said it appeared that Pence would be at high risk of becoming infected and transmitting the infection.

“With several members of your office testing positive, this would be considered a work-based group. As long as there is a cluster like this, I would advise that the entire office switch to remote work for 14 days, ”Nelson said.

The Inquirer Foundation supports our healthcare leaders and still accepts cash donations to be deposited into the Banco de Oro (BDO) checking account # 007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link .

Read next

Don’t miss out on the latest news and information.