<mediadc-video-embed data-state="{"cms.site.owner":{"_ref":"00000161-3486-d333-a9e9-76c6fbf30000","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b93390000"},"cms.content.publishDate":1655319809515,"cms.content.publishUser":{"_ref":"00000172-ebac-d265-adff-fffc847c0001","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"cms.content.updateDate":1655319809515,"cms.content.updateUser":{"_ref":"00000172-ebac-d265-adff-fffc847c0001","_type":"00000161-3461-dd66-ab67-fd6b933a0007"},"rawHtml":"
var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ "div": "Brid_55319806", "obj": {"id":"27789","width":"16","height":"9","video":"1030173"} }); ","_id":"00000181-68bf-db25-adf7-78bf749c0000","_type":"2f5a8339-a89a-3738-9cd2-3ddf0c8da574"}”>Video EmbedDr. Anthony Fauci, the federal government’s top infectious disease expert, tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.
Fauci, who is vaccinated and double boosted, is experiencing mild symptoms, the National Institutes of Health announced.
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“Dr. Fauci will isolate and continue to work from his home. He has not recently been in close contact with President Biden or other senior government officials,” the NIH said. “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.”
Fauci, 81, is the director of the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden. He has long been a crusader for COVID-19 mitigation measures, such as social distancing, mask-wearing, and self-quarantining if necessary. While Fauci said earlier this year that the United States was emerging from “the full-blown pandemic phase of COVID-19,” he has continued to warn the public about the risk of contracting the virus.
In April, Fauci decided not to attend the White House Correspondents’ Dinner out of concern about commingling indoors with over 2,000 people. However, he did attend a pre-party during the day leading up to the dinner.
But his fervent advocacy for such measures has rankled members of the GOP, such as Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who has accused Fauci of pushing fearmongering claims about COVID-19 and squashing dissenting opinions about the need for lockdowns early in the pandemic.
His diagnosis is the latest in a string of positive results among government officials, such as Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, who tested positive this week for a second time. The NIH said that Fauci has not been in close contact with Biden, who is one of the few remaining government officials to have so far evaded COVID-19 infection.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Fauci was scheduled to brief Congress on the country’s response to the pandemic on Thursday. It remains to be seen whether he will participate in the hearing remotely.
