White House hit with Covid-19 second wave as Mike Pence advisers test positive

US Vice President will continue to campaign for President Donald Trump after testing negative

Vice President Mike Pence and his chief of staff Mark Short confer during a meeting with Debbie Birx, the White House coronavirus response co-ordinator. AFP

US Vice President Mike Pence, who leads the national coronavirus task force, tested negative for the coronavirus after two close aides caught it in the latest outbreak at the White House, a week before the presidential election.

Marc Short, Mr Pence's main adviser who is constantly at his side and often acts as his spokesman, tested positive on Saturday.

One of Mr Pence’s closest political advisers, Marty Obst, also tested positive.

The diagnoses come after at least one other aide contracted the virus and only weeks after President Donald Trump and dozens of other staff tested positive.

On October 2, Mr Trump spent three days at Walter Reed Medical Centre before returning to the White House. He was treated with a cocktail of experimental medicine and steroids.

Mr Pence will continue to campaign for the president, who held dozens of rallies since leaving hospital.

The vice president travelled to Florida to deliver a campaign speech in Tallahassee on Saturday evening after learning of Mr Short’s diagnosis. Mr Short did not accompany him.

Coronavirus around the world 

A man casts his vote at a polling station in the Talibeya district of Giza, the twin-city of Egypt's capital, while voting in the first stage of the lower house elections. AFP

People carry bags of food on their heads during a mass looting of a warehouse storing Covid-19 food supplies in Jos, Nigeria. Nigeria, with 200 million inhabitants, counts the highest number of extreme poverty in the world, with close to 90 million inhabitants who are at food risk. AFP

People throng a market a day before the Hindu festival of Dussehra in Mumbai, India. Reuters

Mexican inmate Fanny Ledesma, 28, communicates online with her relatives at the Santa Monica women's prison in Lima. AFP

French Health Minister Olivier Veran looks on during a visit at the the Hopital Nord, in Marseille, southern France, as the country faces a new wave of infections to the Covid-19. AFP

A medical staff member gives treatment to patients in a hospital of the city of Stepanakert, during the ongoing fighting between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh. AFP

Vanessa Hirsi, 58, votes in the US presidential election at the Forum on the first day of California in-person voting, amid the global outbreak of the coronavirus disease, in Los Angeles, California, US. Reuters

A worker sprays disinfectant at an apartment, amid the coronavirus disease outbreak in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Reuters

A person walks past the art installation "IN AMERICA How Could This Happen..." by artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg, as the spread of the coronavirus disease continues, on the DC Armory Parade Ground, in Washington DC, US. Reuters

The unusually empty Navigli area, a popular evening spot of restaurants and pubs bordering canals in Milan, Italy. AP Photo

People clash with the police during their protest against new coronavirus restrictions in Warsaw, Poland. EPA

Teddy bears take the seats at Abe Lenstra Stadium before the start of the Dutch Eredivisie match between SC Heerenveen and FC Emmen in the Abe Lenstra Stadium in Heerenveen, the Netherlands. EPA

Mr Pence is scheduled to campaign on Sunday in Kinston, North Carolina.

Coronavirus has swept through the White House since September, infecting Mr Trump, his wife and youngest son and several top aides.

They included his campaign manager, his press secretary and the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee.

Polls show voters have been highly critical of Mr Trump’s handling of the pandemic.

The US is experiencing yet another surge of infections, with new cases exceeding 83,000 on Friday, a record tally.

About 8.6 million Americans have contracted the virus so far and more than 230,000 have died.

The infections of Mr Short and Mr Obst, and Mr Pence’s exposure, could overshadow the closing week of Mr Trump’s re-election campaign.

He repeatedly said in recent days that the country was turning a corner on the pandemic, even with a sharp increase in infections.

“The bottom line is we have to be vigilant, we have to be careful, we have to be everything, but we also have to get our lives back,” Mr Trump said on Saturday at a rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin.

“We have to take our country back. It’s going away, it’s rounding the turn.”

Mr Trump acknowledged Mr Short's infection as he left Air Force One  early on Sunday.

“I did hear about it just now, and I think he’s quarantining,” he said. “He’s going to be fine but he’s quarantining.”

Mr Obst and Mr Short developed minor symptoms of Covid-19, reports said.

Mr Obst is not a government employee but is often in contact with Mr Pence and his staff and often visits the White House grounds.

He was last around Mr Pence about a week ago but was not in close contact with the vice president, two people said.

Mr Obst was quiet on Twitter on the day he had Covid-19 diagnosed, with only one retweet.

But he has since been active on the social media platform, posting criticism of Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden.

Mr Short and Mr Obst declined to comment on their condition.

Another Trump ally, former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, was admitted to hospital with Covid-19 after helping the president to prepare for his first debate with Mr Biden last month.

Since recovering, Mr Christie issued a public apology, declaring he was wrong not to wear a mask at the White House and urging Americans to follow the guidance of public health authorities.

Mr Trump has seldom worn a mask before or after his illness and discourages it among his aides and people around him.

The president wore a mask on Saturday when he voted in Florida.

Mr Pence, after avoiding the West Wing during the outbreak in which the president became ill, was in the building this week.

On Saturday, he was photographed wearing a mask as he walked from Marine Two  and boarded Air Force Two  in Washington.

Mr Pence did not wear a mask during events in Lakeland or Tallahassee but was alone on stage, at a distance from other people. US Secret Service agents around him wore masks.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that “essential personnel” wear a mask at all times in their workplaces for 14 days after being exposed to someone infected with the virus and maintain social distancing.

Mr Pence’s press secretary, Katie Miller, contracted Covid-19 in May.