The Secretary of Defense of the United States, Lloyd Austin, announced this Sunday that he tested positive for COVID – 19, between an accelerated increase in cases in the country.
Austin, who is fully vaccinated, reported through a statement from his Twitter account that presents mild symptoms, and will be quarantined at home for five days.
The senior official stressed that having the complete vaccination schedule, plus the reinforcement, it helped make the infection much milder than it would have been.
In keeping with those directions, and in accordance with CDC guidelines, I will quarantine myself at home for the next five days. Stemming the spread of this virus, safeguarding our workforce, and ensuring my own speedy and safe recovery remain my priorities. 2/7
– Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) January 3, 2022
“Vaccines work and will continue to be a military medical requirement for our workforce. I continue to encourage anyone who is eligible for a booster injection to get one. This is still a matter of being available ”for action, he said.
He also noted that he was in contact with President Joe Biden last. You see last 21 December, more than a week before starting experience symptoms, limiting having tested negative that morning.
My last meeting with @POTUS was on Tues 12 / 21, more than a week before my symptoms began. I tested negative that very morning. I have not been in the Pentagon since Thursday, where I met briefly & only with a few staff. We were properly masked & socially distanced throughout. 5/7
– Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III (@SecDef) January 3, 2022
He added that he “will retain all authorities” during the isolation period and plans to attend virtually key meetings ” as long as possible. possible “.
Austin has been the last high-profile U.S. official to contracting COVID – 19, after several members of Congress revealed to have tested positive for the virus, while the Omicron variant is growing in the United States.
While hospitalizations remain low in the country, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Advisor to the President of the United States, He suggested in statements to CNN that the guard should not be lowered in terms of testing, vaccination and reinforcement.
“The only difficulty is that if you have so many cases, even if the hospitalization rate is lower with Omicron than with Delta, there is still a danger that there will be an increase in hospitalizations that could stress the health system”, said Dr. Fauci.
In addition, the possibility emerged that next week there will be some adjustments to the isolation policy in the United States, which have received criticism after the reduction of insulation from 10 to 5 days driven by part from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).