FRESH QUESTIONS ABOUT WHITE HOUSE SAFETY PROTOCOLS AROUND COVID -19 ARE BEING RAISED AFTER PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S CHIEF OF STAFF CONCEDED SUNDAY THAT “WE ARE NOT GOING TO CONTROL THE PANDEMIC.”
Key aide to vice-president tests positive
Mike Pence’s chief of staff has tested positive for coronavirus, raising fresh questions about White House safety protocols as a key aide to Donald Trump conceded that “we are not going to control the pandemic.”
With the COVID- 19 infections hitting a new daily record in the U. S. over the weekend, Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, conceded the administration was powerless to stop the spread.
“We’re not going to control the pandemic, we are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigations,” Meadows said on CNN’S State of the Union.
Meadows’ remarks came the day after Pence’s office confirmed that his chief of staff, Marc Short, had tested positive.
There were unconfirmed reports other members of Pence’s staff had also been stricken by the virus.
The outbreak comes just over three weeks after Trump contracted the virus, with the U. S. president requiring several days’ hospital treatment.
Pence and his wife, Karen, both tested negative and are in good health, Devin O’malley, his spokesman, said.
Pence intends to carry on campaigning, despite being in close contact with Short. The vice- president was scheduled to address rallies in Kinston, N.C., Sunday and in Hibbing, Minn., Monday.
Short was frequently seen without a mask when with Pence on campaign trips, despite advice from the U. S. Centres for Disease Control.
With the election less than a 10 days away, the news is another stumble for the Trump campaign as U. S. virus cases continue to set new daily records.
According to Johns Hopkins University, there were 83,718 new cases on Saturday with 35 states reporting an increase on the previous week.
Meanwhile, infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said on Sunday it would be clear whether a COVID-19 vaccine was safe and effective by early December, but that more widespread vaccination would not be likely until later in 2021.
“We will know whether a vaccine is safe and effective by the end of November, the beginning of December,” Fauci told the BBC.
“When you talk about vaccinating a substantial proportion of the population, so that you can have a significant impact on the dynamics of the outbreak, that very likely will not be until the second or third quarter of the year.”
In terms of the election campaign, Joe Biden has edged into a three-point lead in the pivotal state of Texas, according to a new poll, raising the possibility that he could clinch the presidency on election night.
With minimal mail-in voting, the fate of Texas — and its 38 electoral college votes — is expected to be declared on Nov 3.
Should Biden become the first Democrat presidential candidate to win the state since Jimmy Carter in 1976, Trump’s chances of retaining the Oval Office could be dealt a fatal blow.
Influential Te x a s Democrats including Beto O’rourke, the former presidential candidate, have urged the party to pour resources into the state.
They argue that victory would put Biden on course for the White House on Nov. 3 irrespective of results in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina, Arizona and Florida.
Significantly, 40 per cent of those surveyed had already cast their ballot, reflecting a nationwide trend that has seen a surge in early voting with people queuing for hours at polling stations.
According to the latest figures, at least 56 million people have already voted — either by post or in person — because of the coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed 225,000 lives in the U.S.
The surge in early voting suggests the U.S. could be on course for a record turnout of around 150 million people — representing 65 per cent of the electorate, a proportion unseen since 1908.
With 29 electoral votes, Florida is another pivotal state in the election.
Trump, who won the state by 113,000 votes in 2016, is running neck and neck with Biden this year according to the latest polls. They are also tied in Georgia and Biden is narrowly ahead in North Carolina.