[custom_adv] The White House first disclosed the employee’s illness on Friday evening. Mr. Pence’s spokeswoman, Katie Miller, said in a statement that “further contact tracing is being conducted in accordance with C.D.C. guidelines,” but she did not immediately reply to a request for more details about the official’s role. [custom_adv] Several former and current Trump administration officials have self-quarantined over concerns of exposure to the virus. Those include Mick Mulvaney, the former acting White House chief of staff, and Stephanie Grisham, the White House press secretary. [custom_adv] As of Saturday, 302 people have died. The highest number of deaths were in Washington at 94, followed by 53 deaths in New York, according to CNN's tally. The number of cases continued rising, surpassing 23,000 nationwide, with almost half of the cases reported in New York state. [custom_adv] There were 10,356 confirmed cases across the state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a news conference. A majority of those cases, 54%, were individuals between the ages of 18 and 49. [custom_adv] New York is among a handful of states that have urged nonessential workers to stay home in an effort to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, alleviate stress on the health-care system and preserve dwindling medical supplies. [custom_adv] The most recent state to enact such a measure was New Jersey, where Gov. Phil Murphy announced a statewide "stay at home" order, closing nonessential retail businesses and asking residents to stay home until further notice. The order, effective at 9 p.m. ET Saturday, also prohibits gatherings and asks individuals to practice social distancing. [custom_adv] There were at least 23,649 confirmed cases as of Saturday evening -- a number that has soared as testing became more available. More than 195,000 Americans have been tested, Vice President Mike Pence told reporters in a White House briefing. That total does not include county hospitals or health care labs, the vice president said.
