US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan is the latest top official in President Joe Biden’s administration to test positive for Covid-19.
Adrienne Watson, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, said late Saturday that Sullivan, 45, is “asymptomatic” and has not been in close contact with Biden.
The positive result from the NSA came just days after Anthony Fauci, the US’ top infectious disease expert, tested positive for Covid-19 on a rapid antigen test.
According to an official statement issued on Wednesday, Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and the face of the country’s fight against Covid-19, has been “fully vaccinated and has been boosted twice” and is “currently experiencing mild symptoms.”
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra announced on June 13 that he had contracted the virus, while Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was infected on June 6 and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on June 1.
Earlier this year, CIA Director William Burns and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre both tested positive.
Cases of Covid-19 are on the rise once more in the United States.
The country’s Covid caseload and death toll stood at 87,981,568 and 1,038,289, respectively, as of Sunday morning.
The two figures are the highest in the world, making the United States the worst-affected country by the pandemic.
By Brendan Byrne
