Positive For COVID-19, US Secretary Of Defense Lloyd Austin Receives October Booster Dose

JAKARTA - United States (US) Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said he tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday with mild symptoms, leading him to undergo a five-day quarantine at home and perform his duties virtually.

News of Austin's positive test comes after the Pentagon last week tightened restrictions at its headquarters, due to concerns about the highly contagious Omicron variant that has caused a sharp increase in cases of COVID-19 infection worldwide.

The military is faced with the challenge of maintaining military readiness for troops, often in close quarters on ships and aircraft.

Secretary Austin, who is fully vaccinated and received a booster in early October, said in a statement he last saw President Joe Biden on December 21, more than a week before he started experiencing symptoms.

"As my doctor explained, my fully vaccinated status and the booster I received in early October, have made the infection much less severe than it should have been," Minister Austin said, citing Reuters January 3.

He further said he requested the test earlier on Sunday, after developing symptoms while at home on vacation. He was last at the Pentagon on Thursday.

Secretary Austin is one of the most senior members in President Joe Biden's administration to have tested positive for COVID-19. Previously, Homeland Security Minister Alejandro Mayorkas tested positive for the virus in October.

Given his current state, Secretary Austin said he plans to attend meetings virtually whenever possible, retaining all authority in running the Department of Defense and overseeing military activities around the world.

"I continue to encourage everyone who is eligible to get a booster shot. This remains a matter of readiness," said Secretary Austin, adding that deputy Kathleen Hicks will represent him on several occasions.

Previously, the US military had required all active-duty troops to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, with the current figure of around 98 percent of the total troop.

Separately, leading US infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said on Sunday there was still a danger of a spike in hospitalizations due to the large number of coronavirus cases, even as preliminary data showed the Omicron variant of COVID-19 was less severe than other variants.

The Omicron variant is estimated to dominate 58.6 percent of the coronavirus variants circulating in the United States as of December 25, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Fauci added that the CDC would soon issue clarification on whether people with COVID-19 should test negative to leave isolation, following last week's confusion over guidelines that would let people leave after five days without symptoms.

To note, US authorities registered at least 346,869 new coronaviruses as of Saturday, according to a Reuters tally. The US death toll from COVID-19 rose by at least 377 to 828,562.