Joint Chiefs in isolation after Coast Guard admiral tests positive

Members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff are in isolation after the Coast Guard's No. 2 officer tested positive for the novel coronavirus, the Pentagon said Tuesday in a statement.

Adm. Charles Ray, the vice commandant of the Coast Guard, tested positive for the virus on Monday, said Cmdr. Scott McBride, a service spokesman. It is not clear where the admiral was infected, but his travels in recent days include attending a Sept. 27 event at the White House recognizing Gold Star military families and a meeting at the Pentagon on Friday with the military's top generals.

Jonathan Rath Hoffman, the chief Pentagon spokesman, said in a statement on Tuesday that defense officials are aware of Ray's diagnosis and that he was at the Pentagon last week "for meetings with other senior military leaders."

Hoffman said some of the attendees were service chiefs and now in isolation. They include Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Gen. Charles Brown, the Air Force chief of staff, said two defense officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

Hoffman said that there is no change to the readiness or capability of the U.S. Armed Forces. The Defense Department has been following public health guidelines since April, including carrying out body temperature checks and wearing masks when social distancing is not possible.

Alex Brandon / Associated Press Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley listens before a meeting with Secretary of Defense Mark Esper and Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz, at the Pentagon on Sept. 22. The nation's top military leaders were under self-quarantine on Tuesday after a senior Coast Guard official tested positive for the coronavirus, the Pentagon said. Milley and the vice chairman, Gen. John Hyten, were among those affected, U.S. officials said.