Pence Visited School Where Student Is in Coronavirus Quarantine

(Bloomberg) -- A Florida student whose classmates shook hands last Friday with Vice President Mike Pence has been quarantined after his mother came into contact with a coronavirus patient.

President Donald Trump appointed Pence to lead the U.S. government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak, but the vice president was in Florida on Friday mainly for campaign fundraisers. The visit to Sarasota Military Academy didn’t appear on his public schedule.

A representative for Pence said the vice president did not come into contact with the affected student. The coronavirus has infected at least 100 Americans and killed six.

Some White House aides were aware of a virus case in Sarasota but there was no blanket notification about it in the executive mansion, according to people familiar with the matter. Some advisers to the vice president were unaware of the quarantine as of Tuesday morning.

With hand washing, multiple people between Pence and a possible case, and the virus’s limited ability to live outside the body for very long, it’s extremely unlikely that Pence would have been exposed. Most people infected by the virus experience only mild symptoms, though older people or those with underlying health conditions are at higher risk.

Pence shook hands with a group of 44 cadets at the school during his visit, according to the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

A mother and son from the military school have been placed in quarantine “as a precautionary measure” after the mother came into contact with a person who tested positive for the virus at Sarasota Doctors Hospital, according to a post on the school’s Facebook page.

The mother was near the patient “in her professional role,” the post said. Neither the mother or son -- the Facebook post did not name the student -- are showing symptoms of the disease.

The school’s executive director, Christina Bowman, said in an additional post on Tuesday that two weeks ago, the institution “made the proactive decision to deep-clean and sanitize the campus” but that “there is no current recommendation for excluding any additional cadets or school closure at this time.”

She referred questions about the incident to the state Department of Health. A call to the agency wasn’t immediately returned.

Pence is mindful about washing his hands with soap and hot water and using hand sanitizer, aides said. Public health experts have urged the public to take both steps to limit risk of infection.

“I travel across this country all the time. My kids live all over the country,” Pence said at a Monday news conference when asked if he would cancel travel plans. “And look, this is a time to use common sense.”

“Good time to wash your hands,” he continued. “But this time of year that’s always a good decision. But as we’ve said, the risk remains low.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Jennifer Jacobs in Washington at jjacobs68@bloomberg.net;Jordan Fabian in Washington at jfabian6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu

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