Pence, Harris clash over plexiglass barriers in advance of VP debate in Utah

A look inside Kingsbury Hall and the preparations for Wednesday night’s vice presidential debate on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City. | Spenser Heaps, Deseret News

SALT LAKE CITY — The day before Republican Vice President Mike Pence and Democratic California Sen. Kamala Harris take the debate stage at the University of Utah, there’s controversy over plans to use plexiglass barriers in addition to separating the candidates by more than 12 feet to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The Commission on Presidential Debates announced Monday that a plexiglass barrier, supported by Harris, would be put in place on the Kingsbury Hall stage. But the Washington Post is reporting Pence has requested none be used on his side.

His chief of staff, Marc Short, told the Post the vice president’s team does not view plexiglass dividers as medically necessary.

“If she wants it, she’s more than welcome to surround herself with plexiglass if that makes her feel more comfortable,” Short said. “It’s not needed.”

Besides keeping the candidates, who will be seated, even further apart than initially planned, the commission is requiring daily COVID-19 testing. Anyone entering the portion of the University of Utah campus secured for the 90-minute debate that starts at 7 p.m. must also test negative for the virus, wear a mask and social distance.

White House physician Jesse Schonau released information about the vice president’s health Tuesday, saying, “Pence has remained healthy, without any COVID-19 symptoms, and has continued to have daily COVID-19 antigen tests and intermittent PCR tests which have resulted as negative,”

The physician’s statement said Pence “is not a close contact with any individuals who have tested positive for COVID-19, including President Donald J. Trump and senior members of the White House administration,” according to Centers for Disease Control guidelines.

The vice president was traveling Tuesday afternoon through Thursday of last week, according to the statement, then remained at his residence through Sunday “out of an abundance of caution.” He arrived in Salt Lake City Monday evening on Air Force 2 from Washington, D.C.

The physician said Pence “is encouraged to go about his normal activities and does not need to quarantine.”

Trump, who tested positive for the virus last week, returned to the White House Monday after spending three days in the hospital. He removed his mask during a photo opportunity, then recorded a video saying no one should let the deadly virus “dominate” their life.

from Deseret News https://ift.tt/3iBwBIW