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Joe Biden’s campaign announced Thursday that a third person with ties to the campaign and its flight crew has tested positive for COVID-19.
Earlier, Kamala Harris’ travel was canceled through the weekend after two people she recently traveled with tested positive for COVID-19.
The Democratic vice presidential candidate’s communications director Liz Allen as well as a non-staff flight crew member were diagnosed with the bug after flying with Harris on Oct. 8, according to campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon.
Later Thursday, O’Malley Dillon announced an administrative member of Biden’s flight crew had also tested positive for COVID-19. Because the crew member remained over 50 feet from the nominee at all times, Biden will not be quarantined and can continue his campaign travel as normal, she said.
However, the campaign is nixing Harris’s schedule through Sunday “out of an abundance of caution and in line with our campaign’s commitment to the highest levels of precaution,” even though she was not in close contact with either infected person.
The California senator will instead participate in “robust and aggressive” virtual campaign events and return to in-person campaigning Monday.
O’Malley Dillon said the campaign learned of the two diagnoses late Wednesday.
“Neither of these people have had contact with Vice President Biden, Senator Harris or any other staffers since testing positive or in the 48 hours prior to their positive test results,” she said in a statement.
The campaign learned of the third positive case around noon on Thursday as part of their contact tracing efforts.
According to O’Malley Dillon, the administrative crew member flew with Biden to Ohio on Monday and to Florida on Tuesday and regularly tested negative for the virus which has killed more than 210,000 Americans.
The Biden campaign has gone to great lengths to protect the septuagenarian nominee, making sure staffers wear masks inside his Delaware home and keep reporters and voters — even Barack Obama — six feet away from him at socially-distanced events.
President Trump was hospitalized with COVID-19 earlier this month but has since recovered and recently described feeling like “Superman” following his experimental treatment with antiviral drugs like Regeneron.
