U.S. Vice President Pence to receive coronavirus test

"Given the unique position that I have as vice president and as the leader of the White House coronavirus task force, both I and my wife will be tested for the coronavirus later this afternoon."

WASHINGTON, March 21 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said Saturday that he and his wife will get tested for coronavirus later in the same day, as a staff member of his office recently tested positive for the virus.

"Given the unique position that I have as vice president and as the leader of the White House coronavirus task force, both I and my wife will be tested for the coronavirus later this afternoon," Pence said during a news conference at the White House.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence gestures as he attends a press conference on the COVID-19 at the White House in Washington D.C. March 9, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Pence told reporters that the official was "doing well" with "mild" cold-like symptoms for a day and a half, and that the staffer had not been at the White House since Monday.

Pence said White House doctor had "no reason to believe" that the vice president was exposed to the staff member who contracted the virus.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence attends a press conference at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, March 6, 2020. (Photo by Ting Shen/Xinhua)

Pence's office said Friday the staffer had tested positive for the infectious disease.

"Neither President Trump nor Vice President Pence had close contact with the individual," Katie Miller, Pence's press secretary, said in a statement Friday. "Further contact tracing is being conducted in accordance with CDC guidelines."

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (front) attends a press conference on the coronavirus at the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, on March 2, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)

Trump received test for the coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, last week, and White House physician said on March 14 that the result was negative. Trump received Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and his entourage at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida earlier this month.

The president dined with Bolsonaro and his press secretary, who later tested positive for COVID-19. The Brazilian president tested negative for the virus.

(Article by Xinhua Reporter Deng Xianlai; Video by Xinhua Reporter Hu Yousong) ■