Pentagon Says Seven Staff Members Tested Positive for COVID-19 After Base Tour

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - At least seven staff members who travelled with Deputy Defence Secretary Kathleen Hicks to Hawaii last week have tested positive for COVID-19 and are quarantined at the moment, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday.
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"Seven members of the travelling and advance staff who accompanied Deputy Secretary Hicks on her domestic trip last week have tested positive for COVID-19," Kirby said in a statement. "All staff members who tested positive are quarantined, in keeping with CDC guidelines."

Deputy Secretary Hicks and members of her personal staff have tested negative, Kirby added.
On 14-15 December, Hicks visited the Department of Defence sites in Hawaii and met with the US Indo-Pacific Command to discuss the US strategy in the region.
The news comes as the United States is experiencing a new surge in COVID-19-related infections, hospitalizations and deaths amid the growing prevalence of the Omicron variant. On Wednesday, the CDC said the number of new coronavirus cases was up by a quarter as compared to last week and reached nearly 150,000 per day.
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