Coronavirus: The US, vaccine

Pence campaigns on despite new White House cluster

Aide cites V-P's status as essential worker to justify his travel; Trump criticised for claiming progress in recovery

American Vice-President Mike Pence campaigning in Kinston, North Carolina, on Sunday. His chief of staff Marc Short as well as multiple aides have recently tested positive for the coronavirus. PHOTO: REUTERS
American Vice-President Mike Pence campaigning in Kinston, North Carolina, on Sunday. His chief of staff Marc Short as well as multiple aides have recently tested positive for the coronavirus. PHOTO: REUTERS

BANGOR (Maine) • US Vice-President Mike Pence campaigned on Sunday despite a Covid-19 outbreak among his aides and President Donald Trump claimed progress as the country set new records for daily infections, prompting his Democratic challenger Joe Biden to accuse him of surrendering to the pandemic.

With eight days to go before the Nov 3 election, the White House cited Mr Pence's status as an "essential worker" as justification for his campaign travel despite exposure to his chief of staff Marc Short, who tested positive for the coronavirus last Saturday.

Multiple senior aides to Mr Pence also tested positive for Covid-19.

A spokesman for the Vice-President said late on Saturday that Mr Pence and his wife had tested negative. Mr Pence addressed a rally in North Carolina on Sunday and was in Minnesota yesterday.

The United States has in the past two days registered its highest number of new Covid-19 cases - about 84,000 last Friday and nearly 80,000 on Saturday. So far, 29 states have set records this month for new cases, including five key states in the presidential election - Ohio, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

But even as the virus surged in many parts of the country, Mr Trump told an airport rally in New Hampshire: "There's no nation in the world that's recovered like we've recovered... We are coming around, we're rounding the turn, we have the vaccines, we have everything. Even without the vaccines, we're rounding the turn."

While many Covid-19 vaccines are being developed, none has yet been approved for use in the US.

"We're not going to control the pandemic. We are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation areas," White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told CNN's State of the Union programme.

Mr Biden seized on those comments, saying Mr Meadows "stunningly admitted this morning that the administration has given up on even trying to control this pandemic, that they've given up on their basic duty to protect the American people".

He added: "This wasn't a slip by Meadows, it was a candid acknowledgement of what President Trump's strategy has clearly been from the beginning of this crisis: To wave the white flag of defeat and hope that by ignoring it, the virus would simply go away. It hasn't, and it won't."

The outbreak among Mr Pence's aides marked the latest White House Covid-19 cases, which have included Mr Trump, First Lady Melania Trump, their son, Barron, and numerous aides and associates.

The new infections offered a reminder of the way Mr Trump and his allies have downplayed public health experts' advice to wear masks and observe social distancing guidelines.

Mr Meadows told reporters that White House doctors cleared Mr Pence to travel after Mr Short tested positive.

Asked why Mr Pence was not following US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines to quarantine for 14 days after such exposure, Mr Meadows on Sunday cited the Vice-President's status as "essential personnel".

CDC guidance states that "critical infrastructure workers may be permitted to continue work following potential exposure to Covid-19, provided they remain asymptomatic and additional precautions are implemented to protect them and the community". The guidance does not mention political campaigning.

Explaining why the Trump campaign is not requiring people attending rallies to wear masks, Mr Meadows said the organisers offered masks to attendees, but "we live in a free society".

Mr Biden's running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, took four days off the campaign trail this month after an aide tested positive for Covid-19.

Speaking in Detroit, Ms Harris criticised Mr Pence for continuing to travel, saying: "He should be following the guidelines."

Mr Trump has mocked Mr Biden for wearing a protective mask.

Dr Sandra Nelson, an infectious diseases expert at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, said it appeared that Mr Pence would be at high risk of becoming infected and transmitting infection.

"With multiple members of his office testing positive, this would be considered a work-based cluster," Dr Nelson said. "Anytime there is a cluster like this, I would advise that the entire office transition to remote work for 14 days."

As of Sunday evening, almost 60 million Americans had already voted in person or by mail, a pace of early voting that could lead to the highest turnout rate in more than a century, according to data from the US Elections Project at the University of Florida.

REUTERS

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 27, 2020, with the headline Pence campaigns on despite new White House cluster. Subscribe