Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, have tested negative for COVID-19. Senior Adviser Jared Kushner, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Donald Trump’s son, Barron Trump, have also tested negative for the virus. This news comes just hours after President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump contracted the virus.
“We’ve tested all of our core staff, and I can tell you that Mr. Kushner, Mr. Scavino, myself, a number of us have been tested and come back with negative results,” White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said Friday morning.
“And yet, at the same time, I fully expect that as this virus continues to go on, other people in the White House will certainly have a positive test result.”
Despite the immediate positive results, officials warn that people can contract COVID-19 days after coming in contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus.
“Using the CDC-developed diagnostic test, a negative result means that the virus that causes COVID-19 was not found in the person’s sample. In the early stages of infection, it is possible the virus will not be detected,” state health officials in New Jersey report.
Members of the White House staff and close affiliates will continue to be tested regularly for the time being. With that said, Pence’s positive test will leave him eligible to participate in the Vice Presidential Debate on October 7 in Salt Lake City.
