Mike Pence and his wife Karen arrive ahead of the vice presidential debate in Salt Lake City
Credit: Reuters
Mike Pence and Kamala Harris will face each other through a plexiglass wall at the vice presidential debate on Wednesday.
The move came amid calls from public health experts for the meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah to be either held virtually, or abandoned.
Mr Pence also faced calls for him to quarantine for 14 days after the president and a host of senior White House officials tested positive for coronavirus.
The plexiglass shield option was a compromise as neither Mr Pence nor Ms Harris wanted to pull out and be portrayed as scared to debate.
It was proposed by the Democrat campaign. The Commission on Presidential Debates, which runs the presidential and vice-presidential debates, accepted.
So did Mr Pence’s team, although they were believed to have been reluctant, and were adamantly opposed to any configuration that would give the appearance of the vice president being in a box.
Hello Utah! Great to be here with @SecondLady @KarenPence for the Vice Presidential Debate! pic.twitter.com/LV1IROXMA0
— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) October 6, 2020
The discussions led to a bitter war of words between the two sides.
Katie Miller, Mr Pence’s spokeswoman, said: “If Senator Harris wants to use a fortress around herself, have at it.”
Sabrina Singh, a spokeswoman for Ms Harris, said: “Interesting that Katie Miller mocks our wanting a plexiglass barrier on the debate stage, when her own boss is supposedly in charge of the Covid-19 task force, and should be advocating for this too.”
The debate moderator, journalist Susan Page of USA Today, will also be separated behind plexiglass from the candidates.
It raised the prospect that the second presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden in Miami on Oct 15 could also feature plexiglass barriers, or even be held virtually.
Mr Pence and Ms Harris were originally to be seated at the same large table, 7ft apart. The Republican then acceded to a request from Ms Harris to increase the distance between them to 12ft 8ins. They will now be seated at two separate tables, separated by the barrier.
The Biden-Harris plan to get coronavirus under control includes: free COVID-19 testing, treatment, and vaccines for everyone.
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) October 6, 2020
Last weekend Jaime Harrison, a Democrat threatening to unseat Republican senator Lindsey Graham in South Carolina, had a plexiglass screen set up for their debate.
The latest safety measures followed new guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Protection suggesting that the virus can be transmitted through small droplets that remain in the air for prolonged periods of time in indoor areas with bad ventilation.
Mr Pence’s campaign refuted suggestions he should be quarantining, saying he had not been in close proximity to Mr Trump since the president was infected, and had been working from home.
But Doug Heye, a veteran Republican operative, said it was “irresponsible” to hold the debate at all.
He said: “Given what’s happening with positive testing in the West Wing and how positive tests can lag, Wednesday’s vice-presidential debate should be postponed until we know it can be safely held.”
The debate commission said: “Plexiglass will be used as part of our overall approach to health and safety."
In addition, it said rules on wearing masks in the debate hall, at the University of Utah, would be enforced after several members of the Trump family did not wear them at the first presidential debate in Cleveland.
"If anyone does not wear a mask, they will be escorted out," the commission said.
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