WASHINGTON - The Trump administration has
no plans to keep President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike
Pence apart, a person familiar with the matter said,
as concerns rise about the spread of the coronavirus within the
White House.
The New York Times first reported the lack of plans to keep
Trump and Pence separated despite concern they both could be
incapacitated by the disease, citing two senior administration
officials.
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Two coronavirus cases in the White House last week spurred
fears of contagion for the president and vice president, who are
leading the US response to the pandemic, and who have both
resumed travel and business schedules even as the US death
toll from the virus nears 80 000.
Pence's press secretary, Katie Miller, the wife of Trump's
senior adviser, Stephen Miller, tested positive for the
coronavirus a day after confirmation that Trump's personal valet
had been diagnosed with the disease.
White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany sought on
Friday to defend administration efforts to protect Trump and
Pence, pointing to new measures taken by the White House
including contact tracing and putting in place all guidelines
recommended for essential workers.
The White House has also instituted daily coronavirus tests
for Trump and Pence.
Anthony Fauci, a high-profile member of the White House
coronavirus response team, Robert Redfield, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and US Food and
Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn, were in
self-quarantine on Saturday after coming into contact with
someone who had tested positive for the disease.
If Republicans Trump and Pence were both to become
incapacitated, Democratic House of Representatives Speaker Nancy
Pelosi would assume presidential duties under US law.
Last month, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was
admitted to an intensive care unit after becoming the first
leader of a major power to announce he had tested positive for
the highly contagious respiratory virus. Foreign Secretary
Dominic Raab deputized for Johnson during his convalescence.