"Around noon on Thursday, October, 15th, we learned - as part of our contact tracing of the crew member on [Democratic vice-presidential nominee Sen. Kamala Harris' (D-CA)] plane that tested positive for COVID last night - that an administrative member of the Aviation company that charters Vice President Biden's aircraft tested positive for COVID-19," the campaign's Thursday statement read.
"Vice President Biden was not in close contact, as defined by the [US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], with this individual at any time. In fact, the Vice President did not even have passing contact: this individual was over 50 feet from VP Biden at all times, entered and exited the aircraft from a rear entrance, and both the individual and the Vice President wore masks for the entire flight. Given these facts, we have been advised by the Vice President's doctor and the campaign's medical advisors that there is no need for the Vice President to quarantine."
Harris announced earlier Thursday that she was recently informed about her staffer's positive diagnosis. The Democratic vice-presidential nominee contended that she was not in close contact with the individual in question, was "not showing symptoms" of the novel coronavirus and had received two negative results from COVID-19 tests taken this week.
Late last night, I learned a non-staff flight crew member & a member of my team tested positive for COVID. I wasn’t in close contact—as defined by the CDC—with either during the 2 days prior to their positive tests.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 15, 2020
I've had 2 negative tests this week & am not showing symptoms.
“Neither of these individuals had any contact with Vice President Biden, with Sen. Harris or any other staff member since testing positive or in the 48-hour period prior to their positive test results,” Campaign Manager Jen O’Malley Dillon expressed to reporters on Thursday, the Associated Press reported.
At the same time, Harris has moved to suspend travel for a handful of days “out of an abundance of caution.”
“We worry about her. I’m very concerned about her,” US President Donald Trump said of Harris during an outdoor rally in North Carolina on the same day, according to the AP.
“Masks, no masks, everything, you can do all you want, but you know, you still need help," he later said to attendees of his crowded rally.
