During the conference, Pence, who is leading the White House Coronavirus Task Force, urged Americans to use a new website providing updates and general information on coronavirus, including the latest health and safety guidances from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Coronavirus.gov, Pence said, could be trusted to provide “practical information for every American” on how to prevent catching and spreading COVID-19.
However, during the same briefing, Pence also said that both he and Trump were unlikely to follow the very first recommendation in the CDC’s guidance on how to keep the “workplace safe” amid the coronavirus outbreak: “Stop handshaking.”
Asked whether Trump would be following that guidance, Pence said that he did not expect that would be the case, nor was he planning to stop shaking hands with other people.
“Look, as the president has said, in our line of work, you shake hands when someone wants to shake your hand,” Pence. “And I expect the president will continue to do that. I’ll continue to do it.”
Referring to the CDC’s health and safety guidances, Pence said that, ultimately, “What this is, is a broad recommendation for Americans, but a really good recommendation is to wash your hands often.”
Noting that while “people want to get the various sanitizing lotions,” Pence further added that “washing your hands with hot soap and water, 20 seconds, is just as good as any lotion you can buy.”
It is unclear whether Pence’s stance on handshaking has shifted since the Tuesday conference. Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment.
In addition to asking workers to “stop handshaking” and “use other noncontact methods of greeting” instead, the CDC’s workplace guidance also suggests that employers encourage employees to “clean hands at the door and schedule regular hand washing reminders by email.”
It also suggests advising workers to “create habits and reminders to avoid touching their faces and cover coughs and sneezes…disinfect surfaces like doorknobs, tables, desks and handrails regularly” and “increase ventilation by opening windows or adjusting air conditioning.”
Workplaces are also advised to “consider adjusting or postponing large meetings or gatherings” and to “assess the risks of business travel,” in addition to telling workers to stay home if they are feeling sick or have a sick family member in their home.
According to an online tracker maintained by Johns Hopkins University, as of Wednesday morning, there more than 121,000 cases of coronavirus confirmed worldwide, with more than 1,030 confirmed in the U.S. More than 4,350 people have been confirmed dead as a result of the disease, with 29 fatalities in the U.S.
