Pence has tested negative for coronavirus, spokesperson says

Vice President Mike Pence has tested negative for Covid-19, his spokesperson said Friday, hours after President Donald Trump revealed he had contracted the coronavirus.

“As has been routine for months, Vice President Pence is tested for COVID-19 every day. This morning, Vice President Pence and the Second Lady tested negative for COVID-19,” Pence’s press secretary Devin O’Malley wrote on Twitter.

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Pence “remains in good health and wishes the Trumps well in their recovery,” O’Malley added.

The president had tweeted earlier Friday morning that he and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for Covid-19 — hours after news broke that Hope Hicks, one of his top aides, also had tested positive.

White House physician Sean Conley said in a memo that the president and the first lady were “both well,” and that Trump would “continue carrying out his duties without disruption while recovering.”

Still, the statement from Pence’s office offers an added sense of stability to a White House that has been thrown into disarray in the wake of the the president’s diagnosis.

Pence is first in the presidential line of succession, and it remains uncertain how many people close to Trump or Hicks could have been infected in recent days.

“Karen and I send our love and prayers to our dear friends President @realDonaldTrump and @FLOTUS Melania Trump,” Pence tweeted after Trump’s announcement. “We join millions across America praying for their full and swift recovery. God bless you President Trump & our wonderful First Lady Melania.”

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