US Joint Chiefs Chairman Mark Milley tests positive for COVID-19

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has tested positive for COVID-19, his office announced on Monday.

Milley, 63, tested positive on Sunday and is experiencing "very minor symptoms," spokesman Col. Dave Butler, said in a statement. Milley is fully vaccinated and had received a booster, according to his office.

Milley last had contact with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday during the funeral for Gen. Raymond Odierno, and tested negative for "several days prior to" the funeral and "every day following contact with the President until yesterday."

"All other Joint Chiefs of Staff except for one tested negative for COVID-19 yesterday," Butler said.

Milley is the latest senior Biden administration official to test positive for the virus as the US grapples with a surge in cases caused by the omicron variant.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin contracted the virus in early January, just days before the Defense Department upgraded its health protection condition to the second highest possible level due to "an extremely high rate of new cases and positive test results" in the community around the Pentagon.

White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki also tested positive in late October.