U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has chosen to keep his distance from President Donald Trump after the VP’s press secretary tested positive for coronavirus, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said.
"The vice president has made the choice to keep his distance for a few days," McEnany said in response to reports that Trump indicated he and Pence would only be speaking by phone for a while.
McEnany stressed that it was Pence’s "personal decision" as to how many days he would keep his distance from the president, Fox News reported.
On Sunday, a Pence spokesperson denied the VP was in "quarantine" days after his press secretary’s positive test.
"Vice President Pence will continue to follow the advice of the White House Medical Unit and is not in quarantine," the spokesperson, Devin O’Malley, said in a statement. "Additionally, Vice President Pence has tested negative every single day and plans to be at the White House tomorrow."
Pence’s press secretary Katie Miller tested positive for coronavirus on Friday. Trump said that Miller tested positive “out of the blue,” after testing negative the previous day. The president added that he had not come in contact with Miller.
On Friday morning, Pence’s flight on Air Force 2 was delayed an hour because of Miller’s positive test. Miller was not on the plane and not scheduled to be on the trip, but those who had contact with her were asked to go home and get tested.
In addition, a person working as a valet for President Trump tested positive for the virus this past Thursday.
