Interior chief latest official to test positive for virus

Interior Secretary David Bernhardt takes reporters' questions overlooking the Minnesota River area after he announced the gray wolf's recovery "a milestone of success during a stop at the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020, in Bloomington, Minn. The move stripped Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in most of the U.S., ending longstanding federal safeguards and putting states and tribes in charge of overseeing the predators. (AP Photo/Jim Mone) (Jim Mone, Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

WASHINGTON – Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has tested positive for the coronavirus, an agency spokesman said.

Bernhardt's test results Wednesday make him the latest administration official, including President Donald Trump, to test positive for the virus. Trump was hospitalized for three days in October.

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Interior spokesman Nicholas Goodwin said Bernhardt has no symptoms. He “will continue to work on behalf of the American people while in quarantine,” Goodwin said.

Vice President Mike Pence is scheduled to receive the vaccine for the virus Friday.

COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the United States, and more than 300,000 people have died nationally.