The White House said that US Vice President Kamala Harris has tested positive for COVID-19, making her the latest high-ranking figure in Washington to develop the coronavirus.
Harris had not been in direct communication with President Joe Biden or his wife Jill Biden “due to their different recent travel schedules,” a representative for the vice president said in a statement on Tuesday.
“On fast and PCR tests today, Vice President Harris tested positive for COVID-19,” stated spokesperson Kirsten Allen. “She has shown no symptoms and will remain isolated and work from the vice president’s mansion.”
Top US cabinet members and congressmen, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month.
In recent weeks, the virus has infected a number of White House aides, as well as Harris’s husband, Douglas Emhoff.
Despite epidemics in US political circles, Biden, who tests for COVID-19 on a regular basis, has not been infected, according to the White House.
The White House announced on Tuesday that “the President and Vice President spoke on the phone this afternoon.” “[Biden] wanted to make sure she had all she needed while she was quarantined at home.”
Most legislators who have recently tested positive have claimed to have had minor cases, blaming their modest symptoms on vaccination.
“I tested positive for COVID-19 after experiencing what I assumed were seasonal allergies.
“Thankfully, I am fully vaccinated, therefore my symptoms are extremely light,” New York Democrat Congressman Joe Morelle wrote on Twitter on Monday.
According to data from John Hopkins University, the United States has reported more than 81 million COVID-19 illnesses and approximately one million linked deaths since the pandemic began in 2020.
However, most coronavirus-related limitations have been lifted across the country since the number of infections, hospitalizations, and deaths has decreased since an Omicron variant-fueled wave earlier this year.
A federal mask mandate for air travel and other forms of public transportation was struck down by a US court last week, saying that the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) overstepped its authority when issuing the health decree.
The court’s ruling was applauded by conservative legislators who are normally hostile to pandemic-related laws and limitations. In crowded and poorly ventilated areas, however, masks remain the most effective way of protecting individuals against the infection, according to the CDC.
“CDC thinks this is a lawful order that falls well within CDC’s legal jurisdiction to safeguard public health,” the agency said in a statement following the decision. “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to urge that people wear masks in all indoor public transit situations.”
The US Department of Justice has filed an appeal, citing a CDC statement stating that the mask requirement for travel “remains vital to protect public health.”
SOURCE: Aljazeera
