Washington: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has informed that he has tested positive for COVID-19 and will remain quarantined at home for at least five days.
“I tested positive this morning for Covid-19. I requested the test today after exhibiting symptoms while at home on leave,” Austin said, adding that his “symptoms are mild” and he is following his physician’s directions.
“In keeping with those directions, and in accordance with CDC guidelines, I will quarantine myself at home for the next five days,” he said in a statement released by the US Department of Defense on Sunday (local time).
Austin said he is fully vaccinated and boosted, which had “rendered the infection much more mild than it would otherwise have been.”
“The vaccines work and will remain a military medical requirement for our workforce,” Austin said. “I continue to encourage everyone eligible for a booster shot to get one.”
Austin said he was last in contact with President Joe Biden on December 21, more than a week before he started to experience symptoms and he tested negative for the virus that morning.
He will retain all authority and attend key meetings and discussions virtually “to the degree possible,” he said in the statement.