Mike Pence To Keep Up Travel Despite Contact With Infected Aide

WASHINGTON — Vice President Mike Pence plans to maintain an aggressive campaign schedule this week despite his exposure to a top aide who tested positive for the coronavirus, the White House said Saturday. Pence himself tested negative, his office said. Under Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria, the vice president is considered a “close contact” of his chief of staff, Marc Short, but will not quarantine, said spokesperson Devin O’Malley. O’Malley said Pence decided to maintain his travel schedule “in consultation with the White House Medical Unit” and “in accordance with the CDC guidelines for essential personnel.” Those guidelines require that essential workers exposed to someone with the coronavirus closely monitor for symptoms of COVID-19 and wear a mask whenever around other people. O’Malley said Pence and his wife, Karen, both tested negative on Saturday “and remain in good health.” President Donald Trump commented on Short early Sunday after his plane landed at Joint Base Andrews, outside Washington.