US Vice President ‘limits exposure’ after aide tests positive for coronavirus

Head of US Navy and three members of Covid-19 Task Force will quarantine themselves

US Vice President Mike Pence listens as US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Texas Governor Greg Abbott on May 7, 2020. AFP

US Vice President Mike Pence will keep a “little distance” from the outside world after an aide tested positive for Covid-19, but he will attend White House meetings on Monday.

A senior US official told NBC about Mr Pence's plans as his office denied reports that he would isolate himself after his aide, Katie Miller, tested positive for the virus on Friday.

He "will continue to follow the advice of the White House medical unit and is not in quarantine", his spokesman Devin O'Malley said.

"Vice President Pence has tested negative every single day and plans to be at the White House tomorrow."

Mr Pence and US President Donald Trump are tested regularly.

By limiting his exposure, Mr Pence is following medical advice, NBC said. He did not attend a national security meeting on Saturday.

"At this point, for a day or two, give a little distance. It doesn’t mean anything for next week,” the senior official said.

Three people who work at the White House, including Ms Miller, have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past week.

Ms Miller’s husband, Stephen, is Mr Trump’s senior adviser and speech writer, but he has reportedly tested negative.

Some of those exposed to Ms Miller and the two other infected officials are now isolating themselves, including three senior members of Mr Trump’s coronavirus task force.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Robert Redfield, director of the Centres for Disease Control, and Stephen Hahn, head of the Food and Drug Administration, are in quarantine.

But the three are scheduled to testify online in front of Congress on Tuesday.

US Navy Chief Admiral Michael Gilday will undergo a week of quarantine after coming in contact with an infected person, Fox News reported on Sunday.

The number of infections in the US has passed 1.3 million and 79,522 deaths have been recorded, the Johns Hopkins University tracker said.