US: Pompeo in quarantine after COVID-19 exposure

ANKARA

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in quarantine in line with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines after being exposed to COVID-19, said the State Department Wednesday.

"Secretary Pompeo has been identified as having come into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID," said Spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus in a statement. "The Secretary has been tested and is negative."

The department’s medical team closely monitors his situation, she added.

She gave no further details about the identity of the individual that contacted the top diplomat, citing privacy reasons.

Meanwhile, the US is set to approve the second coronavirus vaccine in the country as Moderna recently received a backing report from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The first vaccination of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine was administered to a New York health care worker on Monday, following its FDA approval on Friday.

The US has registered more than 16.7 million coronavirus cases and nearly 304,000 deaths, according to a running tally of Johns Hopkins University.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​