⁍ U.S. registered 84,244 new coronavirus cases and 79,852 cases on Saturday.
⁍ White House cited Pence’s status as an ‘essential worker’ as justification for his travel.
⁍ Pence is scheduled to address rallies in Kinston, North Carolina, later on Sunday and in Hibbing, Minnesota, on Monday.
– With Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff diagnosed with the deadly coronavirus, the White House has deemed him an “essential worker” and cleared him to travel, reports Reuters. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told reporters that doctors have cleared Pence to travel after chief of staff Marc Short tested positive for the virus. Pence is scheduled to campaign in North Carolina on Sunday and in Minnesota on Monday. “With multiple members of his office testing positive this would be considered a work-based cluster,” infectious diseases expert Dr. Sandra Nelson told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday. “Anytime there is a cluster like this I would advise that the entire office transition to remote work for 14 days.” She added that “with multiple members of his office testing positive this would be considered a work-based cluster.” Meanwhile, President Trump told a rally in New Hampshire on Sunday that the US is “rounding the turn” in the outbreak of the virus. “We are coming around, we’re rounding the turn, we have the vaccines, we have everything,” he said. “Even without the vaccines, we’re rounding the turn. It’s going to be over. And you know who got it? I did. Can you believe it?” (The virus has also infected Trump’s adult son.)
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-election/amid-record-us-cases-and-new-white-house-outbreak-trump-claims-pandemic-progress-idUSKBN27A04U