Washington DC, March 22: United States Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen Pence have tested negative for the novel coronavirus, his press secretary Katie Miller has announced.

"Pleased to report that the COVID-19 test results came back negative for both Vice President @Mike_Pence and Second Lady @KarenPence," Miller tweeted on Saturday (local time). Coronavirus Outbreak: Jordan Goes on Virus Lockdown as Death Toll Mounts to 1,556 in Iran.

Pence and the US Second lady were tested for the disease after a staff member of his office had tested positive for coronavirus."Given the unique position that I have as vice president and as the leader of the White House coronavirus task force, both I and my wife will be tested for the coronavirus later this afternoon," Pence said during a news conference at the White House, as cited by CNN.

Pence had added that neither him nor the United States President Donald Trump had direct contact with the staff member. The United States has reported over 15,000 cases of the novel coronavirus, while over 200 people have died of the infection in the country, as per the latest data available on the World Health Organisation website.

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