Fmr FDA Commissioner: Pence Should Be Closely Monitored, ‘Everyone Right Now in the White House Should Be Wearing a Mask’

Former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb warned Sunday that the White House should be taking every precaution possible given that there’s another small outbreak of coronavirus among staffers for Vice President Mike Pence.

Margaret Brennan noted how “at the White House, masks are not mandatory,” and she brought up the news about Pence staffers testing positive.

She asked Gottlieb about Pence not self-quarantining and whether he’s “putting others at risk by campaigning.”

“He could be closely monitored, so the short answer is yes, but you can closely monitor the vice president,’ Gottlieb said. “I would understand why they wouldn’t want to quarantine the vice president, but they need to be very explicit about what they’re doing, and the risks that they’re taking. He should be wearing a high quality mask an N95 mask at all times. He should be distancing wherever possible. They should be serially testing him. And there’s ways to try to provide a measure of protection around the vice president.”

He also said that “everyone right now in the White House should be wearing a mask” because the people there “have an obligation to protect the vice president, the president, and not introduce a virus into that setting.”

“They certainly have access to proper protective equipment, unlike a lot of other essential workers that don’t have that kind of access,” Gottlieb said.

You can watch above (the relevant part starts at the 3:55 mark), via CBS.