Short Secretary General and others consecutively test positive... Pence couple tests negative
Criticism over decision to proceed with campaign: "The White House is pushing aides into crisis"
[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] At least three close aides to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, including his chief of staff, have tested positive for COVID-19. The White House's safety protocols have once again come under scrutiny.
According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 24th (local time), Mark Short, chief of staff and one of Vice President Pence's closest aides, tested positive for COVID-19. Earlier, Marty Obst, an advisor to the Vice President, had also tested positive. The NYT cited another anonymous source saying, "At least three members of Vice President Pence's staff have tested positive," adding that "O'Malley, the Vice President's spokesperson, did not immediately respond to questions about whether there were additional positive cases."
Fortunately, Vice President Pence and his wife, Karen Pence, tested negative for COVID-19 on the same day.
The NYT pointed out that despite testing negative, Vice President Pence decided to continue his campaign schedule. The NYT emphasized, "New questions are being raised about how the White House is pushing its aides into crisis," noting that "nearly 225,000 people have died in the United States alone." It suggests that while the White House focuses solely on the upcoming presidential election, the health issues of its staff are being neglected.
In particular, following President Donald Trump's infection, multiple cases have emerged within the White House, but there are concerns about the White House's quarantine measures, such as not wearing masks.
This is not the first time a close aide to Vice President Pence has tested positive for COVID-19. In May, Katie Miller, the Vice President's spokesperson, tested positive, and her husband, Stephen Miller, a senior White House advisor, tested positive last month.
At the White House, a cluster of infections emerged starting from the nomination ceremony of Amy Coney Barrett as a federal Supreme Court justice on September 26, causing an emergency situation. However, the U.S. administration decided not to trace contacts among attendees, which fueled controversy.
President Trump recently claimed during his campaign that "the United States is turning a corner on COVID-19." On the 23rd, the daily number of confirmed cases in the U.S. exceeded 80,000, marking the largest scale since the outbreak began.
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