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WASHINGTON: Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris will cancel her travel plans until Sunday (October 18) after one of her staff members tested positive for COVID-19, the campaign said in a release.
Harris, who according to the campaign tested negative for the coronavirus on Wednesday and will be tested again on Thursday, had planned an aggressive travel schedule in the run-up to the Nov.3 election between his running mate Joe Biden and the President Donald Trump.
It was scheduled to appear in North Carolina on Thursday, a competitive battleground state where early voting has just begun and Trump must campaign as well.
But the campaign said it learned Wednesday night that Harris’ communications director Liz Allen and a flight crew member had tested positive for the virus. They both traveled with the Democratic senator during a campaign trip in Arizona on October 8.
Harris was not in close contact with any of the infected people for the two days prior to his diagnosis, Biden’s campaign said in a statement and a call with reporters. Harris wore a mask during the flight that he shared with Allen and the flight crew member, who tested negative before and after the flight.
Harris did not need to self-quarantine, campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement, but “as a precaution” he would cancel trips and the campaign virtually before returning to the road on October 19.
The coronavirus pandemic has hit the United States especially hard, killing more people than any other country and turning the 2020 presidential race upside down.
Democrats, in particular, have increased the use of virtual campaigns, fundraising and vote-getting efforts to limit the spread and avoid unnecessary health risks.
Trump contracted the virus himself earlier this month, bypassing him at his campaign rallies, which have continued to draw large crowds and many attendees without protective masks.
Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, planned to cancel his trip on Thursday, but will resume events in person on Friday, as he and Harris tested negative on multiple occasions, Biden’s campaign said.
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