Air Force Two delayed after Pence staffer tests positive for coronavirus

The White House is reportedly increasing the frequency it tests people who come into contact with the U.S. president and vice president, which is now taking place daily rather than weekly.

He stated Miller had not come into contact with him however spent a while with Pence. "I've had little personal contact with him", Trump said on Thursday in the Oval Office.

Pence was scheduled to travel to Des Moines, Iowa, in the morning, but his departure from Andrews Air Force Base was delayed by almost an hour as staff dealt with news of the diagnosis.

Pence, who leads the White House coronavirus task force, recently went on a trip to the Mayo Clinic without wearing a face mask, despite being told about the clinic's policy saying they're required.

White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters at a briefing that the administration had "put in place the guidelines that our experts have put forward to keep this building safe, which means contact tracing". Pence was flying to Iowa to meet with leaders of different faiths and to hold a roundtable discussion about America's food supply.

Pence spokeswoman Katie Miller, who tested positive on Friday, had been in recent contact with Mr Pence but not with the president. The outspoken immigration hawk is considered a member of Trump's inner circle, and spends a lot of time with his daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner, likewise presidential advisers.

"No I haven't but we're getting that.I will do that.at some point probably soon I will be", Trump said, suggesting he will be getting an antibody test in the future, though he offered no details on when that might happen.

Trump and Pence "have since tested negative for the virus and they remain in great health", spokesman Hogan Gidley said in a statement. "You know, negative, I guess you'd say, negative, and then I got tested a second time, and I tested negative, so - and Mike Pence likewise, because Mike would be there sometimes, you know, when he'd walk in".

Ms Miller had tested negative on Thursday, a day before her positive result. "They've already started", he said on the network's "Fox and Friends" morning program.

Trump himself has said he would not wear a mask and has not publicly worn one to any of his events amid the pandemic, but told reporters this week he tried some on behind the scenes during his visit to a Honeywell face mask factory in Arizona. "We were both tested", he added.

The other staffer who works for Pence tested positive in March. During the meeting, Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, said they had all been tested before the meeting. Valets also attend to the president's food and beverage needs in the White House, and during his trips to other places in the USA or outside the country.