Late Friday night, some terrible news broke in terms of the coronavirus penetrating the White House.
A staff member of our Vice President has tested positive for coronavirus.
No Need to Panic
According to Pence spokesperson Katie Miller, “This evening we were notified that a member of the Office of the Vice President tested positive for the Coronavirus.
“Neither President Trump nor Vice President Pence had close contact with the individual.
“Further contact tracing is being conducted in accordance with CDC guidelines.”
Chief of Staff Marc Short added, “He had cold-like symptoms for about a day and a half, and had test results come back Thursday night.
“He was not in the office Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday.”
Of note here is that to this point, Vice President Pence has not been tested.
Even though he has not had prolonged contact with this staffer, he may have been in contact with members of his staff that have.
Short stated some of the members of the Pence team will “probably be encouraged to abide by the quarantines and stay home.”
Just as the media has pressured Trump to take a test, it is a pretty safe assumption that Pence will now face a slew of questions until he submits to a test, even though he has yet to show any symptoms.
Coronavirus in Congress
So far, two members of Congress have tested positive for COVID-19.
Rep. Ben McAdams (D-UT) and Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) have tested positive as well as a staff member of Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA).
In all, 29 members of Congress have put themselves in self-quarantine.
