Mayorkas working remotely after being exposed to COVID-19

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will be working from home this week after coming into contact with someone who tested positive for the coronavirus and submitting himself to quarantine. 

“Secretary Mayorkas has a virtual schedule this week after coming into close contact with a DHS official who later tested positive for COVID-19,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Marsha Espinosa said in a statement to The Hill on Tuesday.

“The Secretary is fully vaccinated, has no symptoms, and has tested negative twice. Official DHS contact tracing is underway. These recommendations have been informed by the Office of the DHS Chief Medical Officer and are taken in an overabundance of caution,” Espinosa added.

The spokesperson did not elaborate on if there were others who are quarantining or tested positive in the agency.

An administration official told Politico that Mayorkas had to cancel a “State of Homeland Security” speech and move other events online.

Coronavirus cases are rising across the U.S., and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Tuesday fully vaccinated individuals wear masks where there is high transmission of the virus. 

A former CDC director recently said the U.S. could see cases go as high as 200,000 a day again in the upcoming weeks. 

–Updated at 4:55 p.m.