Pence Tests Negative for COVID-19 for Third Time Since Trump Was Diagnosed

Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump attend the "Getting America's Children Safely Back to School" event in the State Room of the White House on Aug. 12, 2020. Nicholas Kamm/AFP via Getty Images

Vice President Mike Pence tested negative for the CCP virus (novel coronavirus), which President Donald Trump contracted last week, for a third time in recent days.

Pence is tested for COVID-19 on a daily basis, but his continued good health has become critically important as Trump remains hospitalized for treatment. He has taken up some of Trump’s campaign duties and is next in line if Trump’s condition worsens.

A spokesperson for Pence told The Associated Press that the vice president and second lady, Karen Pence, tested negative for the virus on Oct. 4.

Trump campaign senior adviser Jason Miller told “Meet the Press” that Pence won’t change his schedule after Trump was hospitalized at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

“We’re in a campaign. We have a month to go. We see Joe Biden and Kamala Harris out there campaigning. Certainly they’re not asking for a remote debate,” Miller said on Oct. 4.

“Vice President Pence is following the debate, for the vice presidential candidates, on Wednesday. He will be hitting the trail ... and he’s going to have a very full, aggressive schedule as will the first family ... [We have] no concerns at all.”

In a memo released on Oct. 2, the White House stated, “Under the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Vice President is not considered a close contact with any individuals who have tested positive for COVID, including President Donald J. Trump. Vice President Mike Pence does not need to quarantine.”

The White House stated that Pence is in “good health and is free to go about his normal activities.”

Pence is slated to debate Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Oct. 7 in Utah.

White House physician Dr. Sean P. Conley on Oct. 4 said in an update that Trump “has continued to improve” and could return to the White House “as early as tomorrow.”

First Lady Melania Trump, Trump 2020 campaign manager Bill Stepien, Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel, White House adviser Hope Hicks, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.), Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), former White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie have also tested positive for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.

Trump on Oct. 3 released a video, saying, “Over the next period of a few days, I guess that’s the real test, so we’ll be seeing what happens over those next couple of days.”