U.S. Marine Corps general positive for COVID-19 days after Pentagon meeting

The assistant commandant of the U.S. 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.

“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.”

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.