Pompeo quarantining after contact with Covid-infected person

The US State Department has announced that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has tested negative for Covid-19 but, for safety reasons, is quarantining after interacting with an individual who tested positive for the virus.

Pompeo didn’t have any public appointments listed on his schedule for Wednesday, but President Donald Trump was due to hold a Cabinet meeting in the morning, which the secretary of state would normally be expected to attend. 

“In accordance with CDC guidelines, he will be in quarantine,” the State Department said in a statement, adding that he will be “closely monitored by the Department’s medical team.”

It is not currently clear when or where Pompeo interacted with the infected individual or, in fact, who the person is, as the State Department claimed it couldn’t identify them for privacy reasons.

The news comes after Pompeo cancelled a planned address at an indoor festive holiday party on Tuesday evening. Although, it’s not known if the decision was linked to concerns about Covid-19 transmission, due to the criticism the event has faced for being held in the middle of a pandemic, or for another unrelated reason.

Some 900 invitations had reportedly initially been sent out for the seasonal event, but only 70 people RSVP’d and an even smaller group actually attended. Lawmakers and the American Foreign Service Association had urged the State Department to cancel the party over concerns it could turn into a superspreader event.

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