Washington: Anthony Fauci, the US’ top infectious disease expert, has tested positive for Covid-19 on a rapid antigen test.
Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), is “fully vaccinated and has been boosted twice” and “is currently experiencing mild symptoms”, Xinhua news agency quoted an official statement as saying late Wednesday.
Fauci will isolate and continue to work from his home,” the statement read, adding that he has not recently been in close contact with UPresident Joe Biden or other senior government officials.
Fauci, 81, will follow the Covid-19 guidelines of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and medical advice from his physician and return to work when he tests negative.
He has been the face of the country’s fight against Covid-19 since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020.
He has been the director of the NIAID since 1984 and advised seven US Presidents.
Also chief medical advisor to Biden, Fauci is the latest member of the administration to have been infected with Covid-19.
On June 13, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra announced his he had contracted the virus, while Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was infected on June 6 and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on June 1.
CIA chief William Burns and White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also tested positive earlier this year.
Covid-19 cases are again increasing across the US, according to the CDC.
As of Thursday, the country’s Covid caseload and death toll stood at 87,759,180 and 1,037,664, respectively.
The two tallies are the highest in the world, making the US the worst-hit country by the pandemic.
(IANS)
