Marc Short, chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, on Saturday said a staffer in the vice president’s office who tested positive for the coronavirus had “mild symptoms” and is doing well.
“I am pleased to report that that individual is doing well,” Mr. Short said on Fox News. “I’ve talked to him last night several times. He basically had a couple days of cold-like symptoms, he tested positive Thursday night. He was not in the office Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.”
Mr. Short said the staffer had no direct contact with either Mr. Pence or President Trump.
“We’ve had the normal contact tracing, led by the White House physician’s office, to go through who he may have been in contact with previously and some staff will take necessary precautions. But I’m pleased to report that he had very mild symptoms and is doing really well,” he said.
More than 19,600 people have been infected in the U.S., and Mr. Short said it makes sense that the numbers will continue to grow as more testing becomes available.
He said they’ve only been asking people who have symptoms like a fever and respiratory problems to get tested.
“The number of tests available has grown tenfold this week alone,” he said. “By deduction, as more and more people are tested, you’re going to see those numbers go up.”
“Only those with symptoms are getting tested, and what we’re seeing is less than 10% are actually infected,” he said.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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