The US administration’s chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci has tested positive for Covid-19, US officials said Wednesday.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) released a statement saying that Dr. Fauci, who is also director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, had caught the virus but developed mild symptoms and had been vaccinated with two subsequent booster shots.
“Dr. Fauci will isolate and continue to work from his home… Dr. Fauci will follow the Covid-19 guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and medical advice from his physician and return to the NIH when he tests negative,” the statement read.
US officials clarified that Dr. Fauci has not been in contact with current US President Joe Biden or other senior officials. It’s the first known time that he has tested positive for the pandemic virus in the last two years.
The 81-year-old infectious disease expert was a leading member of the White House’s coronavirus task force during the administration of former US President Donald Trump.
Dr. Fauci has been the public face of the US response to the Covid-19 pandemic since the World Health Organization reported the first case in March 2020. He was considered a national and global hero due to his efforts to promote coronavirus prevention and mitigation measures, including social distancing, mask-wearing, and vaccination.
However, the medical expert has said publicly that he would not continue in his role as a chief medical adviser if Mr. Trump won a second term as US president in 2024.
“If you look at the history of what the response was during the [Trump] administration, I think, you know, at best you could say it wasn’t optimal. And I think just history will speak for itself about that,” he said in an interview with CNN last month.
According to Johns Hopkins University data, Covid-19 infections are rising in the North American country again, driven by the highly contagious micron type, after decreasing below 30,000 per day in March and April. Latest reports show that the infection toll has remained over 100,000 each day since late May.
US Health Secretary Xavier Becerra tested positive for the virus earlier this week. It was Becerra’s second time experiencing symptoms and testing positive, US officials reported.
