(Washington) The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken was declared positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, with “mild symptoms”, announced the State Department.
Posted at 4:08 p.m.
He will “isolate himself at his home” and work virtually, his spokesman Ned Price added in a statement, stressing that he had “not seen” Joe Biden for “several days”. The President of the United States is therefore not considered a close contact, he added.
Asked by the press, Ned Price then clarified that a major speech on the Biden government’s policy towards China that Antony Blinken was to deliver on Thursday was therefore postponed indefinitely.
The Secretary of State was due to attend international meetings overseas next week.
“He looks forward to returning to the State Department and resuming all of his duties and travels as soon as possible,” the spokesperson said.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, who tested positive for COVID-19 on April 26, was released from quarantine on Tuesday.