U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said he tested positive for COVID-19 early Monday and would remain out of the office for the next 10 days, following standard protocol.
The announcement came after Price had attended meetings in New York on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly.
State Department officials said U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken tested negative for COVID-19. He has been in close contact with Price.
"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. I'm feeling under the weather but am grateful for the protection from severe illness offered by safe and effective vaccines," Price announced in a tweet.
"Secretary Blinken tested negative for COVID-19 this morning and undergoes regular testing," said deputy spokesperson Jalina Porter during a Monday phone briefing with reporters.
When asked whether the State Department had notified all the officials from various countries whom Blinken met last week in New York, because Price had been in most of those meetings, Porter said that Price "hasn't been in contact with any foreign delegations since Thursday," citing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) protocol.
"In consultation with State Department's medical unit, we believe the risk of exposure would have actually started on Saturday," said Porter, adding that Price "at that time was not around the secretary, wasn't around any other State Department officials or any foreign officials as well."
The CDC says that fully vaccinated people do not need to quarantine after contact with someone who had COVID-19 unless they have symptoms.
Fully vaccinated people should get tested three to five days after their exposure, even if they don't have symptoms, and wear a mask indoors in public for 14 days following exposure or until their test result is negative.
