“Blinken tested positive for COVID-19 this afternoon by PCR test. “The secretary has been fully vaccinated and strengthened against the virus and is experiencing only mild symptoms,” Price said. “He was negative on Tuesday and again this morning.”
Blinken will be isolated at home and will maintain a “virtual work schedule”, the statement added. “He looks forward to returning to the department and resuming his full duties and traveling as soon as possible.”
The top US diplomat attended a White House reporters’ dinner on Saturday, which was also attended by President Joe Biden, but the two have not seen each other for several days and Biden is not considered close contact, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said on Wednesday. .
Price told reporters later in the day that the State Department had “notified those with whom it had been in close contact following CDC instructions” and that Blinken was working with a doctor at the agency to “restore close contact in due course.” .
“As you know, he was around a lot of people this weekend,” Price said, apparently referring to Blinken’s presence at the dinner and related events.
Blinken, Biden and a number of senior US officials attended the rally, despite fears it could be a high-profile event. Psaki said on Wednesday that the president had not been in close contact with any of the people who had tested positive after dinner.
“If it was, we would have announced it publicly to all of you,” Psaki said, adding that Biden’s latest test was negative for Covid-19 on Tuesday.
The annual Black Ties Dinner – hosted by comedian Trevor Noah – is back after a two-year hiatus, and Biden’s presence was the first time the incumbent attended the 2016 press conference.
In the days following the event, reporters and employees from CNN, ABC News, NBC News, CBS News, Politico and other participating news organizations tested positive for the virus. Blinken joins a number of senior administration officials who have tested positive in recent weeks and months. Vice President Kamala Harris said she contracted the virus last month, and in March Psaki canceled plans to travel with the president to Belgium and Poland after testing positive for Covid-19 for the second time. Her deputy on the trip to Europe, White Vice-Secretary-General of the House of Representatives Karin Jean-Pierre, tested positive shortly after returning from the trip. Harris’ husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, tested positive for Covid-19 earlier in March.
This story has been updated with additional details.
Mike Callahan and Donald Judd of CNN contributed to this report.
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