President Trump said on Wednesday that he would be keeping his distance from Vice-resident Mike Pence, whose press secretary tested positive for the virus.

“I haven’t seen Mike Pence, and I miss him,” Trump said.

“He did not test positive, he tested the opposite. He’s in good shape. But I guess we said for a little while we’ll stay apart; you don’t know what happens with this very crazy and horrible disease.”

The White House on Monday ordered all West Wing employees to wear masks at work unless they were at their desks, and Pence and members of his security detail were photographed wearing them when they arrived on Wednesday morning.

The shift in policy came after two aides working near the President — a military valet and Katie Miller, the vice-president’s press secretary — tested positive for the virus last week.

Pence prompted outrage last month when he did not wear a mask during a visit to the Mayo Clinic, flouting their policy.

The White House frequently screens its staff members, but a study by researchers at NYU Langone Health found that the rapid test the administration uses can miss infections nearly half the time.

Trump initially played down the threat of the coronavirus and continued to work as normal from the White House and lead rallies around the country.

As the grim reality of the pandemic set in, he dropped his campaign rallies after a March 2 event in Charlotte, North Carolina, and the White House ramped up routine testing for Trump, Pence and other senior officials.