Biden will attend Trump’s inauguration in January: White House
The White House has confirmed that US President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will attend President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20, media reported.
US Vice President Mike Pence is not in quarantine and has tested negative to COVID-19, his spokesman said on Sunday, after a close aide was confirmed to have been infected with the virus. Pence would go to work at the White House on Monday, spokesman Devin O’Malley said in a statement following some US media reports that Pence would be self-isolating.
“Vice President Pence will continue to follow the advice of the White House Medical Unit and is not in quarantine,” O’Malley said.
“Vice President Pence has tested negative every single day and plans to be at the White House tomorrow.” Pence’s spokeswoman Katie Miller tested positive, it was revealed on Friday, while President Trump’s valet also tested positive last week.
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Top US infectious diseases expert Anthony Fauci, who has become the trusted face of the government’s virus response, told CNN he would undergo a “modified quarantine” after testing negative and having not been in close proximity to Miller.
President Donald Trump, 73, Pence, 60, and many others at the White House are tested daily. But Trump and Pence often defy the medical experts’ guidance about wearing protective masks.
The country, hardest hit by the pandemic in terms of the number of fatalities, has now confirmed a total of 1,329,799 cases and 79,528 deaths according to Johns Hopkins University, it has also suffered its steepest job losses in history, with 20.5 million jobs lost in April.
(With inputs from AFP)
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