Secretary of the Department of the Interior, David Bernhardt has tested positive for COVID-19 after days of meetings with designated politicians, a department spokesman confirmed The Washington Post Wednesday.
Interior spokesman Nicholas Goodwin told the Post in an email that Bernhardt, 51, was diagnosed before a scheduled Cabinet meeting with President Trump
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“He is currently asymptomatic and will continue to work on behalf of the American people while in quarantine,” Goodwin added.
The spokesman also said the secretary “follows all CDC guidelines and consults medical professionals as appropriate” and that “Interior will continue to follow all CDC guidelines (i.e., identifying close contacts, cleaning workspaces, and so on).” ) with respect to the secretary positive test result “.
The Post reported that Bernhardt has spent the past two days in meetings with several Trump officials and that he also attended the presentation of a portrait for the former secretary. Ryan Zinke
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Two people who spoke to the Post on condition of anonymity to openly discuss internal debates said Interior employees were informed that a holiday party scheduled for Thursday has been canceled due to Bernhardt’s diagnosis.
According to the newspaper, Bernhardt is at least the third top Interior official to have tested positive for COVID-19 since November, after Daniel Jorjani after serving as an election observer in Pennsylvania and director of the U.S. United States Fisheries and Wildlife, Aurelia Skipwith.
Bernhardt’s positive test arrives on the same day as the State Department he canceled his party after the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo
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The party’s guest list had included 180 foreign ambassadors, mission leaders and their spouses, the Post reported.
A State Department spokesman had confirmed this Pompey went into quarantine after coming in contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. It had been negative, but “it was being monitored by the department’s medical team,” the spokesman said.