In this file photo taken on March 16, 2020 US Vice President Mike Pence and US President Donald Trump talk during a COVID-19 pandemic briefing at the White House in Washington, DC (Brendan Smialowski / AFP)
US Vice President Mike Pence and his wife, Karen, have tested negative for the coronavirus.
The US vice president’s press secretary, Katie Miller, tweeted the results of the tests Saturday night.
Pence had announced earlier Saturday that, out of an abundance of caution, he and his wife would be tested for the virus. A member of the vice president’s staff had tested positive for the virus.
Pence had said the staffer, who did not have close contact with either the president or vice president, was doing well. Still, Pence stood just a few feet from US President Donald Trump at the podium during their press conference.
It was the latest case of COVID-19 to brush the inner circle of US leadership.
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White House Personal check journalists temperature before Vice President Mike Pence and US President Donald spoke at a briefing in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on March 21, 2020 in Washington, DC (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images/AFP)
An attendee at a political conference last month featuring Trump and Pence tested positive for the illness, and multiple political figures who regularly meet with the president and vice president have gone into preventive self-quarantine.
Trump tested negative for the novel coronavirus last week. He agreed to the test after coming in contact with several members of a Brazilian presidential delegation visiting his Florida resort who have since been found to have the virus.
The news came as COVID-19-linked deaths in the US rose to 336 with more than 26,000 confirmed infections, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.
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