Health Secretary Xavier Becerra Has COVID — for Second Time

Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra tested positive for COVID-19 last week at the Summit of Americas — the second recent summit at which he had coronavirus, after testing positive at the G-7 summit in Germany last month.

The Sacramento Bee reported Monday:

On Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was also present at the summit, announced that he had contracted the virus. Trudeau was not considered a close contact of the president; according to Lovenheim, the secretary also was not a close contact of Biden or Vice President Kamala Harris.

Becerra had previously tested positive for COVID-19 on May 18 during his trip to Germany, where he was attended the G-7 health summit.

It was the health secretary’s second bout with coronavirus. He is the second high-profile official to test positive for the coronavirus for the second time in recent days, following Trudeau’s positive test Monday.

The Department of Health and Human Services said in a press statement: “This morning in Sacramento, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra tested positive for COVID-19 after taking an antigen test. He is fully vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19, and is experiencing mild symptoms. He will continue to perform his duties as HHS Secretary, working in isolation.”

Becerra is isolating in Sacramento, where he previously served as California Attorney General before being chosen for the nation’s top health job, despite having no experience in the field.

He has been somewhat absent from public view during the Biden administration’s effort to tackle the pandemic.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.