Mike Pompeo to quarantine after coronavirus exposure
- The US secretary of state has tested negative and will be monitored by the State Department’s medical team
- Pompeo earlier cancelled a speech he was due to give at an indoor holiday party on Tuesday
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has come into contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus and will be quarantining although he has tested negative, the US State Department said on Wednesday.
“Secretary Pompeo has been identified as having come into contact with someone who tested positive for Covid[-19]. For reasons of privacy we can’t identify that individual,” a spokesperson for the State Department said.
“The secretary has been tested and is negative. In accordance with CDC guidelines, he will be in quarantine. He is being closely monitored by the department’s medical team.”
The State Department did not immediately answer further queries about how Pompeo came into contact with the infected individual. The Washington Post on Tuesday reported that Pompeo cancelled a speech he was due to give at an indoor holiday party the State Department had organised.
Pompeo did not have any appointments or event in his public schedule sent out by the State Department late on Tuesday. President Donald Trump was due to hold a cabinet meeting at 11.30am, according to the White House schedule.