Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg will quarantine for 14 days after a member of his security detail tested positive for COVID-19, the department said in a statement Monday.
Buttigieg, who tested negative for the virus Monday and has not shown any symptoms, is the first member of President Joe Biden’s administration to quarantine.
“After the agent’s test came back positive, we initiated contact tracing protocols immediately for any DOT staff that had been in contact with that individual,” DOT chief of staff Laura Schiller said in the statement. “One additional member of the security detail was identified as having been in close contact, as defined by the CDC, with the agent, and will also self-quarantine consistent with CDC guidelines.”
Schiller said Buttigieg received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine in “recent weeks” and will receive the second dose when his quarantine is complete.
A second security detail member will also quarantine after being in close contact with the member who tested positive.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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