Member of Vice President Pence’s staff tests positive for virus

WASHINGTON, DC -- The White House said a member of Vice President Mike Pence’s staff has tested positive for coronavirus.

Pence’s spokeswoman Katie Miller said Friday evening that the staff member, who is not being identified, did not have “close contact” to either the vice president or President Donald Trump.

Miller said contact tracing, or contacting everyone the individual has been in contact with, is being conducted in accordance with guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Miller said Pence’s office was notified Friday evening of the positive test result.

Pence has been the Trump administration's point-person on coordinating the government's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

While the staffer is the closest confirmed case to Pence that is publicly known, it isn't his first potential brush with the virus.

At least two people tested positive for the coronavirus after attending the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's Policy Conference in Washington, which was attended by Pence as well as several lawmakers and aides.

Both Pence and President Trump attended the Conservative Political Action Conference last month, where a high-profile attendee also tested positive for coronavirus. Interactions with that attendee sent multiple Republican lawmakers into self-quarantine in the weeks following the conference.

As of earlier this week, Pence had not been tested for the virus.