Dr. Scott Gottlieb — former Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner in the President Donald Trump administration — is warning Vice President Mike Pence and others who were with Trump earlier this week they are not immune from contracting the coronavirus.
Host of CBS’s “Face the Nation” Margaret Brennan asked Gottlieb if Pence is out of the woods.
“Anyone who was with the president on Tuesday, Wednesday is not in the clear. I mean, anyone who was with any of the people who are currently infected earlier this week, they were probably at their peak contagion at that point,” Gottlieb said.
He added, “So typically, you’re most contagious about 24 hours before the onset of symptoms. So the debate prep on Tuesday is a source of potential third-generation spread. The meeting of the GOP, the Senate GOP on Wednesday, is a source of third-generation spread.”
Watch his comments below:
CONTINUITY OF GOVERNMENT: Is @VP @Mike_Pence out of the woods for #COVID19?
— Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 4, 2020
“Anyone who was with the President Tuesday, Wednesday is not in the clear,” @ScottGottliebMD tells @margbrennan, warning it’s an evolving situation and likely there will be more cases to come. pic.twitter.com/x4IGZtBbWR
Gottlieb claimed there will likely be more cases early this week.
“So this is still very much an evolving situation. Now, look, we hope not. And there are situations where there is no further propagation, but it’s more than likely that you will see additional cases of third-generation spread,” he said.
Trump is currently being treated at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, following his coronavirus diagnosis on Friday.
Pence, next in line for the Oval Office, and his wife tested negative for the coronavirus on Friday, as IJR previously reported.
National Security Advisor Robert O’Brien told Margaret Brennan on Sunday a transfer of power is “not something that’s on the table at this point,” as IJR previously reported.
White House physician Sean Conley said on Sunday Trump’s condition “has continued to improve” despite “two episodes of transient drops in his oxygen saturation.”
There are more than 7.4 million coronavirus infections reported in the U.S. and close to 210,000 have died.