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U.S. Marine general tests positive for coronavirus after Pentagon meeting

Click to play video: 'Trump downplays COVID-19 again, as virus hits Pentagon'
Trump downplays COVID-19 again, as virus hits Pentagon
WATCH: Trump downplays COVID-19 again, as virus hits Pentagon – Oct 6, 2020

The assistant commandant of the Marine Corps has tested positive for the coronavirus, days after he and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were in a Pentagon meeting with a Coast Guard leader who was infected with the virus.

The Marine Corps said Wednesday that Gen. Gary L. Thomas, tested positive for COVID-19. He attended a meeting of the Joint Chiefs on Friday, when the commandant was not able to be there. U.S. officials said none of the other top military leaders in the meeting — including Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — have so far tested positive.

Thomas and the others have been in self-quarantine since Tuesday when they found out that Adm. Charles W. Ray, the vice commandant of the Coast Guard who was at the meeting, had tested positive.

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“At this time we have no additional senior leader positive test results to report,” said the Pentagon’s chief spokesman Jonathan Hoffman. “We will continue to follow CDC guidance for self-quarantining and contact tracing.”

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Coronavirus: Trump says COVID-19 was ‘blessing from God’, promises to speed approval of medications

Ray attended the Joint Chiefs meeting Friday in the so-called Tank _ the classified meeting room in the Pentagon. Officials said that is where most of the military leaders were exposed to him, but he also had other meetings with officials.

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