HUD Secretary Ben Carson tests positive for COVID-19
The HUD secretary was experiencing symptoms and tested positive for coronavirus at Walter Reed Hospital
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson tested positive for COVID-19 this morning.
ABC News reports that Carson was experiencing symptoms and went to Walter Reed Hospital and learned he contracted the respiratory virus. He is expected to make a full recovery.
“Secretary Carson has tested positive for the coronavirus. He is in good spirits and feels fortunate to have access to effective therapeutics which aid and markedly speed his recovery,” Coalter Baker, Carson’s chief of staff, said in a statement to ABC News.
Read More: Biden announces coronavirus advisory board to help fight pandemic
Carson has since been released from Walter Reed and remained there for a short time but the diagnosis comes after he attended election night celebrations at the White House last week. It also follows an outbreak of the virus which has plagued the Trump administration.
theGrio previously reported that President Donald Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows was diagnosed as well last week. The virus has swept the West Wing, infecting Trump, the first lady, Barron Trump, and the president’s closest advisers.
Carson’s diagnosis comes amid as there has been an increase in COVID-19 infections across the nation. Johns Hopkins University complied data that showed that 43 states reported at least 10% more new Covid-19 cases in comparison to last week.
Read More: Pfizer says early data signals COVID-19 vaccine is effective
To date, there have been almost 10 million confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus and more than 237,000 deaths. President-elect Joe Biden has made addressing the pandemic a top priority in his forthcoming administration and announced a task force Monday. He named 13 top health experts to guide his COVID-19 Advisory Board.
“The advisory board will help shape my approach to managing the surge in reported infections; ensuring vaccines are safe, effective, and distributed efficiently, equitably, and free; and protecting at-risk populations,” Biden said in a statement.
During a press conference, Biden touted early data by Pfizer signaling that there was a vaccine to help fight COVID-19 which suggested a 90% effective at preventing the disease. He maintained the need to “track and curb” the airborne disease and that any vaccine would be free of charge.
“I will spare no effort to turn this pandemic around,” Biden said.
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