WASHINGTON—U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has tested negative for COVID-19 on Monday morning, State Department said, after department spokesperson Ned Price tested positive for the disease and is quarantining.
“After experiencing symptoms for the first time this morning, I tested positive for COVID-19 shortly thereafter, & will now quarantine for the next 10 days,” Price, who is vaccinated, said on Twitter.
Price joined more than half a dozen meetings with Blinken last week in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
In a call with reporters, Department deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter said Blinken had tested negative as recently as Monday morning and none of the other members of the traveling party were currently exhibiting symptoms.
Price also spent a good part of last week within the close circle of Blinken, including Deputy Secretary Wendy Sherman and Undersecretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland, who have held their own separate meetings with a number of foreign delegations.
By Simon Lewis, Humeyra Pamuk, Daphne Psaledakis and Mohammad Zargham
