Vice President Mike Pence is self-isolating just days after a top aide, his press secretary, tested positive for COVID-19. According to Bloomberg News, Pence tested negative as recently as Sunday, “but is staying home out of an abundance of caution,” said three people familiar with the situation, “who asked not to be identified because his isolation hasn’t been publicly announced.”
The White House is downplaying the Vice President’s actions, refusing to call it self-isolation or quarantine, as NBC News reports:
“Vice President Pence will continue to follow the advice of the White House Medical Unit and is not in quarantine,” spokesman Devin O’Malley told the Associated Press. “Additionally, Vice President Pence has tested negative every single day and plans to be at the White House tomorrow.”
President Donald Trump has made clear he opposes wearing a mask or practicing social distancing, and the Vice President has continued to follow Trump’s lead, although he did skip a Saturday meeting with President Trump and top military officials.
On Friday the Vice President flew to Des Moines, Iowa, and met with food industry CEOs, whom were directed to remove their masks before meeting the Vice President for a roundtable discussion. Iowa Republican Senators Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue traveled with the Vice President.
Also in self-isolation due to contact with a person or persons infected with coronavirus are the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration and the Director of the CDC. Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is practicing a “modified” quarantine.
Earlier this week President Donald Trump’s personal valet tested positive, as did a personal aide to First Daughter Ivanka Trump, although that aide does not work in the White House.
This article has been updated to include recent responses from the White House.