President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence are keeping their distance in the wake of positive coronavirus test results among White House staffers.
An administration official told The Hill that Trump and Pence will remain distant for the “immediate future” in an effort to mitigate a possible spread among White House officials. The official confirmed the decision was made following a recommendation from the White House medical unit.
Trump and Pence, who previously conducted daily coronavirus briefings together during March and April.
When asked about Pence at the White House Coronavirus Task Force briefing on Monday, the president admitted that he had not seen the vice president in the past few days.
“I have not seen him since then,” Trump said. “But I would say that he will -— he and I will be talking about that. Yeah, we could talk on the phone.”
The latest social distancing development among Trump and Pence comes just days after reports of positive coronavirus test results among two White House staffers who work in close proximity with the president and vice president.
First, one of Trump’s personal valet tested positive. Then, the vice president’s spokesperson Katie Miller also tested positive.
In addition to those two staffers, 11 secret service agents have also tested positive while another 60 have opted to self-quarantine out of an abundance of caution.
The positive cases have sent shockwaves through the White House contributing to White House staffers now being required to wear masks.
Visible changes among White House staffers were also evident during the president’s briefing on Monday.
Many were seen wearing masks and practicing social distancing which is a distinct difference compared to previous press briefings where they were seen unmasked.
As of Tuesday morning, there are over 1,392,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States. The death toll has now surpassed 82,000.