UPDATED 2:00 p.m. ET: During a news conference on Saturday, Pence said he and his wife, Karen, would be tested for the virus as a precaution. That test will occur later on Sunday afternoon.
“On a personal note, many of you may have been made aware that a member of my staff has tested positive for the coronavirus. We learned of that late yesterday,” Pence told reporters. “I am pleased to report that he is doing well. He had mild, cold-like symptoms for about a day and a half.”
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A staffer who works in Vice President Mike Pence's office has reportedly tested positive for the coronavirus. That info was made public when a spokeswoman for Pence, Katie Miller, revealed it on Friday evening.
"This evening we were notified that a member of the Office of the Vice President tested positive for the Coronavirus. Neither President Trump nor Vice President Pence had close contact with the individual," said Miller, according to CNN. "Further contact tracing is being conducted in accordance with CDC guidelines."
The briefing goes on to state that "neither President Trump nor Vice President Pence had close contact with the individual."
Pence has been the administration's point person when it comes to crafting the government's response to the pandemic.
Whether or not you can consider this a close call, Pence previously had a brush with the virus when a policy conference he had gone to in Washington was also attended by a pair of people who tested positive for the virus.
Additionally, Pence and Trump were at the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, which was also visited by a "high-profile attendee" who tested positive for the virus. That person's presence and subsequent interactions with multiple Republican lawmakers sent those lawmakers into self-quarantine afterward.
Neither Pence or Trump were in "close proximity" to that attendee, according to the White House press secretary.
