Vice President's Mike Pence's chief of staff tested positive for COVID19

Mark Short is thus the latest to add his name to the list of staff in Donald Trump's administration who have contracted the coronavirus.

Mark Short has been quarantined, Devin O'Malley, spokesperson for the vice president, said in a statement.

"Vice President Pence and Ms Pence tested negative for COVID-19 today and remain in good health," he added.

In agreement with White House doctors, Mike Pence, who is campaigning for the November 3 election, is maintaining his program, according to the same source.

President Donald Trump himself was hospitalized for a few days with COVID-19, before recovering.

Mr. Trump had downplayed the severity of the health crisis by calling for the reopening of businesses to revive the economy.

With nearly 89,000 new cases, the United States on Saturday recorded a record number of COVID-19 contamination for the second day in a row, according to continuously updated data from Johns Hopkins University. The country has nearly 225,000 deaths.