Five people connected to Mike Pence have tested positive for COVID-19 over the last 72 hours. Most notably, Pence’s Chief of Staff Marc Short and adviser Marty Obst have tested positive. According to Maggie Haberman of the New York Times, members of the White House staff did not immediately want to reveal the latest round of positive tests.
“The statement [confirming the positive tests] did not come from the White House medical unit, but instead from a press aide. Two people briefed on the matter said that the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, had sought to keep news of the outbreak from becoming public,” Haberman wrote.
Mike Pence spokesperson Devin O’Malley has confirmed that Pence and Short were in close contact within the last week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s protocol suggests that he should quarantine for 14 days. However, his staff has said that he will continue with his work as scheduled because he and his wife have tested negative today.
“We’re not going to control the pandemic,” White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said after learning of Short’s positive test.
“What we need to do is make sure we have the proper mitigation factors to make sure people don’t die from this.”
The Vice President travelled to Florida on Saturday and Arizona this week.
