Yahoo News Mike Pence's Press Secretary Announces She's Recovered from COVID-19 — and She's Pregnant
Katie Miller, the press secretary for Vice President Mike Pence, made a double announcement on Twitter on Tuesday: She was back to work at the White House after testing negative for the novel coronavirus disease and she's expecting her first child with another administration aide.
Miller, 28, wrote in a tweet that she tested negative for COVID-19 three times before returning to work in person on Tuesday after two and a half weeks working remotely.
"Back at work today after three NEGATIVE COVID tests," Miller wrote. "Thank you to all my amazing doctors and everyone who reached out with support. I couldn’t have done it without my amazing husband who took great care of his pregnant wife. #TransitionToGreatness"
Miller, who married senior White House adviser Stephen Miller in February at a Trump property, had to abruptly begin working from home earlier this month after she tested positive for the respiratory illness along with one other White House staffer.
Miller's husband self-quarantined along with her and is also back at work this week, according to White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany.
The revelation that Miller and one of President Donald Trump's personal valets had tested positive for the virus earlier this month sparked concern about an outbreak in the White House and forced staff there to begin working under unique social distancing guidelines.
“It is scary to go to work,” Kevin Hassett, one of Trump's top economic advisers, said on CBS’ Face the Nation days after Miller and the other unidentified White House staffer tested positive for the virus.
Vice President Pence kept his distance from Trump in the week following, and both officials have said all tests they've routinely taken in recent weeks for COVID-19 have come back negative.
"Wonderful young woman, Katie, she tested positive," Trump revealed to reporters on May 8, adding that "she hasn't come in touch with me."
Doug Mills-Pool/Getty Images Katie Miller (right) with Marc Short, the chief of staff for Vice President Mike Pence.
McEnany, 32, told reporters at a press briefing on Tuesday that she wasn't sure if Trump's valet had returned to work and didn't know if anyone else in the White House has tested positive for COVID-19 in the weeks since Miller and the valet's diagnosis.
"It's not something that I regularly keep tabs on," she said.
A senior Trump administration official told PEOPLE earlier this month that the president's physician and White House operations staff were making sure "every precaution is taken to keep the president, first family and the entire White House complex safe and healthy at all times."
The U.S. was closing in on 100,000 deaths from the virus as of Tuesday — a grave landmark in the pandemic — while globally the New York Times reports at least 346,283 people have died from the virus out of 5.4 million confirmed cases.
The contagious virus has shown it knows no political bounds, infecting officials from governments across the globe in recent months — including in the U.S.
McEnany said Tuesday that the Trump administration was still planning to host the annual G7 summit with leaders from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the U.K.
"We will protect world leaders who come here just like we protect people in the White House," she said.
She said the U.S. was looking to host the summit in late June and the administration planned to host it at the White House.
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