Mr. Buttigieg, who a White House spokesman said was not considered a close contact of President Biden, is at least the fifth cabinet secretary to test positive in about the last month.
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Secretary Pete Buttigieg was not considered a close contact of President Biden, a White House spokesman said on Monday.
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said on Monday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus, the latest member of President Biden’s cabinet to be infected.
Mr. Buttigieg added that he was experiencing mild symptoms.
“I plan to work remotely while isolating according to C.D.C. guidelines, and look forward to when I can safely return to the office and the road,” he wrote on Twitter, referring to guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mr. Buttigieg was not considered a close contact of Mr. Biden, a White House spokesman said on Monday. To be a close contact, Mr. Buttigieg would have to have been less than six feet away from Mr. Biden for 15 minutes or more in a 24-hour period, according to the C.D.C.
The Department of Transportation said on Monday that Mr. Buttigieg, 40, has been vaccinated and boosted.
Last week, Labor Secretary Martin J. Walsh and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland announced that they had also received positive test results.
Others in Mr. Biden’s inner circle who have tested positive in about the past month include Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, and Susan Rice, the White House domestic policy adviser. Mr. Biden’s daughter, Ashley Biden, also became infected in mid-May.
Source: nytimes.com
