Pence distancing from Trump, West Wing for ‘immediate future’ after aide has COVID-19

Vice President Mike Pence is distancing himself from the president and the West Wing for the “immediate future,” after one of his top aides tested positive last week for the coronavirus, two senior administration officials told McClatchy.

Pence is not in self-isolation at the vice presidential residence on the grounds of the Naval Observatory in Washington, unlike several other coronavirus task force officials who are in self-quarantine after they came into contact with the aide who contracted the virus.

He arrived for work on Monday in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, adjacent to the White House, where he and his staff have offices.

The vice president is, however, staying away from the West Wing of the White House, where the president and his senior staff have offices, the officials said. One said Pence and Trump “mutually decided” on the safety measure.

“They are going to maintain some distance for the immediate future, in consultation with the White House medical unit,” another senior official said.

The vice president did not attend a news conference the president held on coronavirus testing on Monday afternoon in the Rose Garden, which was unusual. Pence is often at Trump’s side and is the head of the White House coronavirus task force.

Trump said at the press conference that he had not seen Pence at all during the “quarantine period,” without going into detail about what that meant. Both men are said to have consistently tested negative for the coronavirus.

White House officials said the president and vice president are distancing from one another for the time being out of extreme precaution. There is no definite timetable for the separation, they said, but it is expected to last until the White House medical unit determines that the incubation period for the virus has passed.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends self-isolation of 14 days after potential exposure to COVID-19. Two people at the White House tested positive for coronavirus in the last week.

The first was the president’s valet, a member of the military who assists Trump with personal tasks.

Then Pence’s spokeswoman, Katie Miller, tested positive on Friday after testing negative a day earlier. She is married to senior policy adviser to the president Stephen Miller and was last seen in public on Thursday accompanying the vice president during a delivery of personal protective equipment to a nursing home in Alexandria, Va.

White House officials were unable to say Monday how Miller contracted the coronavirus, although they acknowledged that extensive contact tracing efforts were underway. No other White House staffers had tested positive for the coronavirus since, officials said Monday.

CDC Director Robert Redfield, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases head Anthony Fauci and Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn have all been in a form of quarantine since Pence’s spokeswoman tested positive.

Senior administration officials, and other White House guests who expect to come into contact with the president, are tested daily. Traffic into the Oval Office is now minimized to essential participants.

The White House implemented the daily testing policy for staff in regular contact with the president last week, after Trump’s valet tested positive for the virus. The White House maintains a list of just under two dozen people who are required to be tested daily, one aide said.

As a direct result of the two coronavirus cases, the White House instituted a mask policy on Monday.

“I required it,” Trump said.

For the first time everyone attending the president’s news conference wore one — except Trump and one Secret Service agent.

The president was more than 6 feet away from the next closest person, his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Trump never came in contact with anyone else in the outdoor space, using his own podium to deliver remarks and take questions, while other officials who spoke shared another podium that was more than 6 feet away from him.

“Obviously in my case, I am very far away from everyone,” Trump said. “Just about everybody I’ve seen today has worn a mask.”

CDC guidelines recommend the wearing of masks where there is considerable risk of an outbreak, to prevent spread of the virus. Physical separation of at least 6 feet is another guideline.

Few White House officials had been seen in public wearing masks prior to Monday afternoon’s event.

A stack of masks and a sign encouraging passersby to take one also appeared Monday on a desk used by Secret Service personnel inside the West Wing near the press office and not far from the Oval Office.

It is still not mandatory that everyone at the White House wear face coverings, several aides said, but mask wearing is now strongly advised.

“It’s not like a grocery store where you’ll get turned away if you don’t have one on,” one official told McClatchy of the policy.

Since the vice president’s spokeswoman contracted the coronavirus, the White House has introduced regular cleanings of staff workspaces, multiple times a day, an official said. A list of screening questions for guests entering the White House ask about symptoms like muscle aches that visitors may not associate directly with the coronavirus.

Temperature checks have been administered at the White House for all visitors, including reporters, for nearly two months, both upon arrival and before coming near the president.