US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has self-quarantined after coming into contact with a person who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, according to an official statement.
“Secretary Pompeo has been identified as having come into contact with someone who tested positive for Covid. For reasons of privacy we can’t identify that individual,” Xinhua news agency quoted the State Department statement as saying on Wednesday.
“The Secretary has been tested and is negative. In accordance with CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines, he will be in quarantine.
“He is being closely monitored by the Department’s medical team,” the statement added.
As per his initial schedule, Pompeo was slated to meet President-elect Joe Biden’s pick to succeed him, Antony Blinken, on Thursday for the first time, according to a CNN report.
But the meeting has now been cancelled following Wednesday’s development, an informed source told CNN.
The news of Pompeo’s exposure comes as President Donald Trump’s administration has started hosting a series of in-person holiday parties at the White House and also the State Department, despite warnings from top health officials regarding the unabated coronavirus resurgence across the country.
According to an internal schedule reviewed by CNN, the State Department has cancelled two holiday gatherings for foreign ambassadors in Washington that were scheduled to take place on Wednesday, which were to be addressed by Pompeo.