Blinken Tests Positive for Covid-19, Delays China Policy Speech
Blinken Tests Positive for Covid-19, Delays China Policy Speech
(Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Antony Blinken tested positive for Covid-19 and will work from home in the coming days, prompting him to postpone a key China policy speech that had been scheduled for Thursday.
Blinken, who attended the White House Correspondents Association dinner on Saturday, is fully vaccinated and boosted and is experiencing only mild symptoms, according to a statement Wednesday from State Department spokesman Ned Price.
The top U.S. diplomat “has not seen President Biden in person for several days, and the President is not considered a close contact according to guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),” Price said. “He tested negative on Tuesday and again as recently as this morning.”
Blinken met with at least one foreign official on Wednesday before testing positive: Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde. Addressing reporters, Price said the State Department has been advising close contacts about the secretary’s diagnosis.
On Tuesday, Blinken met with Mexican Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard and Japanese National Security Advisor Akiba Takeo.
Price said Blinken had repeatedly tested negative on rapid Covid tests but had a more precise PCR test on Wednesday after experiencing symptoms.
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