Almost all of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are in quarantine after attending meetings last week.
Washington:
The Marine Corps said its No.2 Officer Gen. Gary Thomas tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the second senior military official to do so this week, another sign of danger for senior officers who met the two men at the Pentagon.
Thomas, the Deputy Commander of the Marine Corps, is suffering from mild symptoms and is quarantining himself at his home, the Marine Corps said. Reuters was the first to report Thomas’ positive result.
Almost all of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, including its chairman, Army General Mark Milley, are in quarantine after attending high-level meetings last week with Thomas and the No. 2 official of the Coast Guard Admiral Charles Ray, who tested positive Monday for illness caused by the coronavirus.
The list of top generals quarantined reads like a “Who’s Who” of the US military, including General Paul Nakasone, head of the National Security Agency and US Cyber Command, as well as heads of the military , navy, air force and space force.
“At this time, we have no additional positive test results for senior leaders to report,” Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said in a statement.
“We will continue to follow CDC guidelines for self-quarantine and contact tracing,” Hoffman said, referring to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Hoffman gave no further details, including whether other high-level generals were showing potential symptoms.
The disclosure risks adding to a growing sense of uncertainty about the degree of risk to U.S. national security leaders as President Donald Trump himself attempts to recover from the illness.
The White House says the increase in cases among senior White House officials and others in Washington has not upset the government.
“Our adversaries are always on the lookout for any weaknesses to exploit,” warned Representative Adam Smith, chairman of the Democratic-led House Armed Services Committee, on Tuesday in a terse statement targeting Trump.
“While our military can still operate while the leadership is quarantined, the implications of the president’s recklessness on national security cannot be overstated,” Smith added.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
