Pence, wife test negative for coronavirus

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Vice President Mike Pence and his wife have both tested negative for COVID-19, his office announced on Saturday.

“Pleased to report that the COVID-19 test results came back negative for both Vice President @Mike_Pence and Second Lady @KarenPence,” Katie Miller, the vice president’s press secretary, said in a tweet.

Earlier on Saturday, Pence announced that he and his wife would be tested for the COVID-19 coronavirus, following confirmation that an aide on his staff was diagnosed with the respiratory disease last week.

Pence made the remarks at a news conference following the coronavirus task force meeting at the White House. Earlier in the week the vice president,who leads the task force, told reporters that he has not been tested for the virus because the White House doctor had told him he didn’t need to be.

“I’m pleased to report that he is doing well,” Pence said of his aide, adding that “he had mild cold-like symptoms for a day and half.”

Pence explained that all contact-tracing has been completed and neither he nor the president had direct contact with the aide. Regardless, he said, he would undergo testing later in the day.