Student in coronavirus quarantine days after classmates shook hands with Mike Pence

A Florida student is now in coronavirus quarantine just days after he allegedly shook hands with Vice President Mike Pence.

The incident took place when Pence visited the Sarasota Military Academy on Friday to meet students, shake their hands and pose for photographs. Per the Herald Tribune, Pence was visiting for a fundraiser at the Longboat Key home of Representative Vern Buchanan.

According to the Independent, the school has since released a statement confirming that a student and his mother are being quarantined.

It revealed that the student's mother had been in contact with a patient at Sarasota Doctors Hospital where she works, and the patient has now tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Pentagon subsequently contacted the school about the student.

The executive director of schools at SMA, Colonel Christina Bowman, said: "We have been in touch with the Pentagon, so we assured them that particular cadet was not present for that occasion."

The vice president's press secretary, Katie Miller, went on to tweet that Pence had not met or came into contact with the quarantined student.

The school is in continual contact with the quarantined student and his mother, neither of whom are displaying symptoms of the coronavirus.

"I want our parents and employees to know we are safe," Bowman said.

"We've been proactive on sanitizing and teaching our students how to make sure they are washing their hands. We are working with the health department and making sure we are following their protocols. At this time, they are not recommending any exclusions. They are recommending we go about our business every day."

While visiting the academy, Pence shook hands and took pictures with 50 supporters.

At the time of writing, per the WHO live dashboard, there have been a confirmed 90,893 cases of coronavirus and 3,111 deaths across 73 countries.

In Florida, there have been two confirmed cases of the virus. However, 184 people are being monitored for possible exposure to the virus, eight cases are pending and 15 people have tested negative, the Independent reports.