White House officials were yesterday questioned by U.S Health policy specialists on questions related to the federal rules on essential workers that allowed Vice President Mike Pence to continue campaigning and not living in quarantine after he was exposed to covid-19.
The health specialists claimed that campaigning is not deemed as an official duty that is meant for essential workers. The guidelines are meant to make sure that law enforcement officers, first responders, and essential transportation and food workers can still perform their official duties that can not be done otherwise.
Pence’s spokesperson said that the vice president would resume his work and would travel to all those places where he has to do the campaigning. Not to forget, many of Pence’s close aids were tested Covid positive. However recent reports state that Pence tested negative on Sunday. He chose to travel according to his schedule after getting a green signal from the medical personnel.
As per the information received from the sources, even Trump was startled hearing about this incident. Trump was earlier heard saying that Pence was quarantining, but now we know this was not the case.
The global pandemic of Covid-19 has affected most of the families and individuals in the whole world. In U.S.A alone, the covid-19 cases are rising constantly in 75% of the country. The best way to deal with this virus is quarantining. It means living in complete isolation for at least 14 days after getting exposed to this deadly virus.
Despite this fact, Pence held gatherings at different locations including one in Minnesota on Monday and in North Carolina on Sunday.
Is Pence An Essential Worker?
The National Security Advisor, Robert O’Brien, recently gave an interview where they stated that the Vice President is following all the rules as drafted by federal health officials. He further referred Pence to as an essential worker. Robert said that essential workers have to go out and campaign because voting is among the essential things for every American.
However, the guidelines, as created by the U.S. C.D.C.P clearly state that officials like Police, first responders, and essential transportation and food workers fall under the definition of essential workers.
It is further known that the Department of Homeland Security has declared 16 different types of critical infrastructure workers. These workers include people from Military Bases, Public Works, Nuclear Power Sites, Courthouses, and other facilities.
Apart from being the Vice President of the United States of America, Pence also toils as president of the Senate. It was earlier announced that the Senate was expected to vote on Monday evening. The voting was to confirm Trump’s Supreme Court candidate Amy Coney Barrett. A vote from Pence’s was not powerful enough to turn the tables but being the president of the Senate, his presence was necessary.
According to the guidelines issued by the CDC, as the Vice President, Pence should be watched for Covid-19 symptoms by his medical staff. He must maintain at least 6 feet distance from everyone and must wear a mask to break the chain in his workplace.
Various public health experts have criticized Pence for taking this matter so lightly. Many even said that Pence has violated the CDC guidelines. There are health experts who have said that due to his behavior, Pence is risking the lives of people that work near him.
A sensible person would have quarantines himself by now. It’s not just for our health, but for others as well. A person who has just come out from Covid has a weak body and can get infected by the virus again. Hence, it becomes really important for him to quarantine himself until he is free from all the viruses and infections.
