Seven Pentagon staffers who were on a domestic tour of U.S. military bases with Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks have tested positive for COVID-19, the Pentagon said Thursday.
The Defense Department workers, both civilian and military employees, had been tested for COVID-19 before the trip and were vaccinated, Reuters first reported.
They were tested at the end of the trip out of an 'abundance of caution.' Hicks herself has tested negative.
They accompanied Hicks on her reviews of military bases where officials focused on how next year's budget dollars could expand capacity to take on increasingly aggressive counterparts in China and Russia.
The group traveled through Michigan, Colorado, Hawaii, California and Nebraska.
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said Hicks and her entire entourage followed CDC guidelines 'including the stringent wearing of masks and social distancing where and when possible.'
The COVID-positive staff members are now quarantining, and Kirby said the Defense Department was tracing their possible contacts across hotels, bases and any 'support personnel' they could have exposed.
'We continue to treat the prevention of the spread of COVID-19 with utmost seriousness and care,' he stated.
Just yesterday, Delaware Democratic Sen. Chris Coons became the 10th member of Congress to test positive for COVID-19 this week as the omicron variant has let to a spike in cases in Washington, D.C. and across the country.
The Omicron variant is now the dominant coronavirus strain in the United States
Sen. Chris Coons became the 10th member of Congress to test positive for COVID-19 this week
Washington, D.C. is seeing a dramatic spike in COVID cases as the omicron variant spreads across the United States
'In recent weeks I have been tested for COVID-19 regularly, both with rapid tests and PCR tests, and last night I got bad news – I tested positive,' he tweeted Thursday. 'I have minimal symptoms so far and am optimistic I will recover well after isolating and following CDC guidelines.'
Coons, who represents Delaware, is one of the president's top allies on Capitol Hill.
He follows Reps. Jan Schakowsky and Jim Clyburn in announcing a positive COVID-19 test.
Schakowsky tweeted Wednesday night that her husband tested positive on Friday and after several negative tests the congresswoman tested positive Tuesday night. The couple is vaccinated and boosted.
'We got tested when we felt something was off, and now we can prevent exposure to our family and loved ones. I implore you to do the same before holiday gatherings this week and next,' she wrote. 'Get tested if you feel sick or have been around someone who tests positive.'
Schakowsky's tweets came shortly after Clyburn, the No. 3 Democrat and chair of the coronavirus select committee, said he tested positive for COVID - forcing him to miss his granddaughter's wedding.
'Tonight, I received a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. This is a breakthrough case, and I am asymptomatic,' the 81-year-old House Majority Whip said.
The South Carolina Democrat said it took more than 56 hours to receive his positive PCR result.
Clyburn said he took an at-home COVID test on Sunday in preparation for a family gathering.
'On Sunday, my entire family took at-home tests as a precaution prior to my granddaughter's wedding, which took place today,' he said.
The rapid test was inconclusive and, 'out of an abundance of caution,' Clyburn quarantined and took a PCR test on Monday.
House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (pictured in November 2021) has tested positive for COVID-19 despite having no symptoms and being fully vaccinated with a booster
Rep. Jan Schakowsky tweeted Wednesday night that she had tested positive for COVID-19 the night before, after her husband received a positive test on Friday
As he remains quarantined, Clyburn is issuing a warning to Americans as more citizens are reporting breakthrough cases amid the surge of the now-dominant Omicron variant
He claims it took more than two days to get his positive result.
Clyburn tested negative for COVID last week ahead of President Joe Biden's visit to his alma mater, South Carolina State University.
Both men attended the university's December commencement, where Biden addressed the graduates, commending their successes amid challenging pandemic times.
Biden was then potentially exposed to COVID on Air Force One traveling between South Carolina and Philadelphia, when an aide tested positive for the virus days later.
Biden received a negative PCR result Wednesday.
Earlier in the week, seven additional lawmakers said they had contracted COVID.
They include Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker, as well as Reps. Jason Crow, Matt Cartwright, Antonio Delgado, Barbara Lee and Nicole Malliotakis, the lone Republican.
Delgado, 44, announced Tuesday he tested positive for COVID. He's also fully vaccinated and boosted.
Clyburn (center) tested negative for COVID last week ahead of President Joe Biden's (left) visit to his alma mater, South Carolina State University
'Yesterday, I tested positive for COVID-19 and am currently experiencing mild symptoms,' he said in a statement. 'I'm grateful for the protection of a safe and effective vaccine and booster and encourage all who are able to get both.'
Prior to that, Lee and Malliotakis announced their positive COVID tests, as Washington, D.C. surpassed all other states in the nation in its coronavirus infection rate.
'This week, I received a breakthrough positive COVID-19 test result. Fortunately, I have only mild cold-like symptoms. I know it could have been much worse had I not been vaccinated and boosted,' Lee said in a statement.
'After experiencing mild symptoms and a slight fever, Congresswoman Malliotakis, who is vaccinated, tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday. She is quarantining at home and is feeling well,' her office announced.
The announcements come as Washington D.C.'s COVID cases rose by 369 percent in the past week, the largest gain in the nation, as the Omicron variant spreads across the nation.
The number is based on a seven-day rolling average of daily new cases per 100,000 residents.
Democratic Rep. Antonio Delgado of New York announced a breakthrough COVID case on Tuesday
Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee of California (left) and Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (right) of New York also tested positive for COVID-19 this week
Elizabeth Warren revealed her positive diagnosis on Twitter Sunday afternoon
Warren urged others to get vaccinated amid the rise in COVID cases and the Omicron variant
Earlier Tuesday, Cartwright of Pennsylvania, announced that he, too, tested positive for COVID.
'He tested positive on Saturday,' his Communications Director Colleen Eagen Gerrity told Times News Online.
She said Cartwright, who represents an area that includes Scranton, had received two vaccine shots.
It was not known if he had received a booster shot.
He is quarantining at home after experiencing flu-like symptoms.
Crow of Colorado announced he tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday night, hours after Warren and Booker tweeted news of their own diagnoses.
The number of members of Congress who have tested positive for the virus since the start of the outbreak in 2020 has now surpassed 100, according to a list kept by PBS News Hour.
The Senate and House have each gone home for its holiday recess, avoiding the chance of more transmission between members, although many lawmakers hold events with constituents while away from Washington.
Meanwhile, Americans nationwide are seeing a surge in COVID infections fueled by the Omicron variant.
The swift rise in infections from Omicron, first detected last month and now accounting for at least 73 percent of US cases, has caused fresh concern ahead of the Christmas holiday.
In the last seven days, the average number of US cases has risen 26 percent and cases are up 83 percent since the start of the month.
Biden on Tuesday laid out measures - including activating new pop-up vaccination clinics run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and federal testing sites - aimed to combat the surge.
Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, announced on Sunday that he had tested positive for COVID-19
Rep. Matt Cartwright, a Pennsylvania Democrat, and Rep. Jason Crow (right), a Colorado Democrat both tested positive for COVID-19 as the omicron variant created a new surge
He pledged to assist states in battling the wave of cases by providing stockpiled resources and mobilizing 1,000 troops to aid with healthcare.
The president, at the same time, offered both a warning to the unvaccinated, who he said have 'good reason to be concerned,' and reassurance that those who are inoculated can gather for the holidays despite the new variant sweeping the country.
'No this is not March of 2020,' Biden told reporters at the White House. 'Two hundred million people are fully vaccinated, we're prepared, we know more.'
Biden's remarks came after health experts said earlier this week the country would likely see record numbers of cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the weeks and months ahead.
'We are going to see a significant stress in some regions of the country on the hospital system, particularly in those areas where you have a low level of vaccination, which is one of the reasons why we continue to stress the importance of getting those unvaccinated people vaccinated,' Biden's chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, predicted Sunday on CNN's State of the Union.
On Wednesday, Fauci reiterated that Americans who have been vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 can be with family over the holidays, but noted that attending large gatherings of more than 30 people is not safe, even for those who received a booster dose.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, however, called for greater caution and urged people to postpone their gatherings.
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