An official in Vice President Mike Pence’s office has tested positive for COVID-19—the first known such case in a White House staffer.
“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 Pence’s press secretary Katie Miller in a statement late Friday.
“Further contact tracing is being conducted in accordance with CDC guidelines,” said Miller.
The statement did not identify the official.
Pence is leading the White House task force that was formed to combat the outbreak of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as the novel coronavirus.
NTD refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China and create a global pandemic.
Trump on Thursday suggested that the Chinese communist regime is to blame for the CCP virus, which has spread to more than 160 countries and territories around the world, killing thousands.
Human-to-human transmission of COVID-19 was occurring from at least mid-December 2019 in Wuhan, according to a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Jan. 29. The paper found that “there is evidence that human-to-human transmission has occurred among close contacts since the middle of December 2019.”
Chinese authorities did not confirm human-to-human transmission until Jan. 20—almost three weeks after the disease was first officially reported on Dec. 31, 2019. The first patient reported with the virus exhibited symptoms on Dec. 1.