Mike Pence’s top aide tests positive for coronavirus
Oct 24, 2020, 8:00 PM | Updated: 8:51 pm
FILE - In this Monday, Sept. 16, 2019 file photo, Marc Short, chief of staff for Vice President Mike Pence, speaks with reporters at the White House in Washington. Vice President Mike Pence will maintain an aggressive campaign schedule this week the White House said Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020 despite his exposure to Marc Short, his chief of staff who tested positive for the coronavirus. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — A spokesman says Vice President Mike Pence will continue with his aggressive campaign schedule after his chief of staff, Marc Short, tested positive for the coronavirus Saturday.
Pence spokesman Devin O’Malley says Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, both tested negative for the virus on Saturday and remain in good health.
Short is Pence’s closest aide and the vice president is considered a “close contact” under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. O’Malley says that “in consultation with the White House Medical Unit, the Vice President will maintain his schedule in accordance with the CDC guidelines for essential personnel.”
Those guidelines mandate that essential workers exposed to someone with the coronavirus closely monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 and wear a mask whenever around other people.
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After a day of campaigning Saturday, Pence was seen wearing a mask as he returned to Washington aboard Air Force Two once the news of Short’s diagnosis was made public.
