Secretary Antony Blinken Tests Positive for COVID-19

Rabat – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has tested positive for COVID-19, the US State Department announced on May 4. Blinken’s diagnosis is likely to hamper his planned attendance at a high-level meeting in Marrakech in the coming week.

The Secretary of State is fully vaccinated and boosted against the COVID-19, though he is experiencing “mild symptoms,” State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said.

The White House confirmed on Tuesday that US President Joe Biden, meanwhile, tested positive, adding that he did not meet with Blinken in several days.

Blinken, however, on Wednesday met with Swedish Foreign Affairs Minister Ann Linde to discuss continued assistance for Ukraine, Transatlantic relationships, and global issues.

Price said that a “major” political speech by Blinken on US-China bilateral relations, planned for May 5, has been postponed, including other international meetings.

Blinken was expected to visit Morocco on May 11 to participate in a meeting of the Global Coalition against Daesh. The event is expected to convene high-level officials from across the word in Marrakech.

It remains to be seen whether Blinken will cancel his visit to Morocco due his COVID-19 diagnosis, or whether he will participate in the meeting remotely.

The US State Department established that Blinken is “grateful” to the medical staff all around the world who encouraged vaccination. The statement added that Blinken will maintain his isolation and a virtual work schedule, as long as his health situation will allow him to return to his duties.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) affirmed via twitter on May 4 that COVID-19 cases and deaths worldwide continue to decline and that this can be considered good news.

“However, reduced testing in many countries makes us blind to patterns of transmission & evolution,” he said.

The Omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1 was identified in at least a dozen of countries, but still the US has the highest rates of the variant. The CDC confirmed early Tuesday that 29% of last week COVID-19 cases were originally BA.2.12.1, particularly in the center of New York (58%).