Health Secretary Xavier Becerra tests positive for Covid-19

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra tested positive for Covid-19 during a trip to Germany for a G-7 health summit.

Becerra tested positive Wednesday morning ahead of a meeting with other health ministers, spokesperson Sarah Lovenheim said in a statement.

“He is fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19, and is experiencing mild symptoms,” she said.

Lovenheim added that Becerra last saw President Joe Biden on Thursday. “Biden is not considered a close contact” as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she said. Becerra “remains fully engaged with the duties of HHS Secretary while in isolation in Berlin, and looks forward to resuming in-person meetings, as soon as possible.”

Becerra last Thursday traveled to Bali, Indonesia, to co-chair a meeting with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and arrived in Berlin on Monday. The health secretary was slated to travel to Geneva, Switzerland, on Saturday for the 75th World Health Assembly, where he was scheduled for a series of bilateral meetings on health partnerships.