MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th October, 2020) Another three people close to US Vice President Mike Pence have tested positive for COVID-19, NBC News reported shortly after it became known that Pence's chief of staff Marc Short and political aide Marty Obst had tested positive for the coronavirus.
Pence's spokesman Devin O'Malley said on Saturday that both Pence and his wife Karen Pence had tested negative for COVID-19, while Marc Short and Marty Obst tested positive.
NBC reported citing officials close to Pence on Sunday that, apart from Short and Obst, three of Pence's staff members had tested positive for the virus. Aides said Pence had canceled local news interviews scheduled this weekend on the campaign trail. They told NBC that he would not do rope-line greetings either.
O'Malley said on Saturday that "in consultation with the White House Medical Unit, the Vice President will maintain his schedule in accordance with the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines for essential personnel." Since Short is considered a "close contact," Pence is now required, under CDC guidelines, to wear a facemask around people and to be closely monitored for any coronavirus symptoms.
Trump was hospitalized with COVID-19 at the Walter Reed Military Medical Center on October 2, not long after announcing on Twitter that he and his wife Melania had tested positive for the coronavirus.
That same week, Pence and second lady Karen Pence tested negative for the coronavirus, according to Pence's spokesman Devin O'Malley.
White House Physician, Dr. Sean Conley, announced on October 12 that Trump had tested negative for COVID-19 on consecutive days.
First Lady Melania Trump announced last week that the First Family's son Barron, 14, had contracted COVID-19 but exhibited no symptoms and subsequently tested negative.
