Wilmington: At least three people connected to Joe Biden's presidential campaign tested positive for COVID-19, leading to the suspension of in-person events of campaign for vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris on October 12.
Biden did not alter his public schedule on Thursday, according to sources, because he had no direct exposure with the individuals who tested positive, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
COVID-19 hit Biden campaign's for the first time, after months of safety precautions that drew mockery from President Donald Trump, even after he, first lady Melania Trump and others contracted the virus themselves.
The Democratic campaign's cautious reaction revealed the differences in how the rival camps approached the pandemic, both in terms of preferred government response and in the candidates' personal protocols.
Biden's campaign announced two positive cases Thursday morning, identifying Harris' communications director Liz Allen and an unnamed member of the flight crew for one of Harris' recent campaign trips. The campaign announced the third case Thursday afternoon as part of its contact tracing efforts from the first two cases.
The third individual was reported to be an aviation company employee who was on Biden's plane for trips to Ohio and Florida earlier this week but who entered the back of the plane and sat far away from Biden, according to the campaign.
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Harris and Biden, meanwhile, spent several hours campaigning together in Arizona on October 8, when the first two people who tested positive were on a flight with Harris. Both candidates have tested negative for COVID-19 multiple times since then, including on Thursday. Everyone on the Biden campaign plane was required to wear a mask.
Trump, spoke without a mask before a crowded outdoor rally in North Carolina on Thursday afternoon offered his best wishes to Harris and reiterated his scepticism of wearing masks.
"We worry about her. I am concerned about her," he said. Later he added, "Masks, no masks, everything, you can do all you want, but you know, you still need help." The travel suspension interrupted the Biden campaign's aggressive push across a wide battleground map, including North Carolina and Ohio, with less than three weeks to go until Election Day.
Harris was set to encourage early voting Thursday in North Carolina. Her Friday trip to Cleveland would have been her first to Ohio as the vice presidential nominee and would have taken her into the metropolitan area with the state's largest concentration of Black voters.
Harris would continue virtual campaigning, including fundraisers previously scheduled for Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The senator's brief hiatus from the trail comes as Trump ramped up his own travel after he, the first lady, his campaign manager and several White House staffers contracted the virus.
Biden campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon told reporters Thursday morning that under CDC guidelines, there was no need for the candidates to be in quarantine, although she said Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, would suspend travel for several days out of caution.
"Neither of these individuals had any contact with Vice President Biden, Senator Harris or any other staff member since testing positive or in the 48-hour period prior to their positive test results," O'Malley Dillon said.
"Harris followed up in a statement that she would be transparent with you about any test results that she would receive. In the meantime, remember: wear a mask, practise social distancing, and wash your hands regularly. It is possible to stop the spread." O'Malley Dillon announced the third case late Thursday afternoon. She said Biden's medical advisers recommended against quarantine as there was considerable distance between Biden and the third individual who tested positive.
Harris and Biden spent several hours together on October 8 during multiple campaign stops, private meetings and appearance in front of reporters at an airport. They wore masks every time in public and aides said that they wore the mask in private as well as on all flights during travel.
Reportedly, Biden would be present in ABC News town hall on Thursday airing live at 8 pm EDT and he would proceed with his planned travel on Friday and the weekend." O'Malley Dillon said all campaign staff members on the October 8 flight tested at least twice after the event. All test results were negative," she said.
"The first two positive cases were announced on Wednesday night," O'Malley Dillon said. Harris had opted earlier this week to attend the Senate Judiciary Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Amy Coney Barrett virtually rather than in person, after some of her Grand Old Party, GOP Senate colleagues tested positive for COVID-19 or disclosed their exposure to others who had tested positive.
Biden's campaign perceived COVID-19 seriously, drawing mockery from Trump and Republicans, even as the White House dealt with the fallout of its virus outbreak. The Democratic ticket's campaign events maintained social distancing and required participants to wear masks, till now. Staff often set chairs inside white plastic circles to denote 6 feet (1.8 meters) of distance. During a recent indoor speech at a North Carolina event for Harris, reporters were given and asked to wear N-95 masks.
(AP)
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