Following an event attended by a COVID-infected Coast Guard vice commander, Charles Ray, most of the US military top brass have had to quarantine themselves to prevent the further spread of the disease, which has recently affected a number of people at the White House, including the US president.
Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps Gary Thomas has tested positive for COVID-19 after attending two events attended by another top US military commander, Charles Ray, who recently also tested positive. Now, the Marines' second-in-command is experiencing “mild symptoms” and is generally “feeling well”.
Thomas, like at least nine others from the military's top brass, including Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley and the heads of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Space Force, was in voluntary quarantine when the test results arrived after it became known that Ray, a Coast Guard vice commander, had caught coronavirus. So far all of them except Thomas have tested negative but remain in isolation out of an abundance of caution.
As the top brass remains quarantined, the Pentagon is scrambling to track everyone who came in contact with Ray when he attended the two large events – a Gold Star family event on 27 September at the White House and a meeting of military commanders on 2 October. The Department of Defence noted that the measure is crucial to maintain combat readiness being affected by the pandemic.
At the same time, the White House, which has also seen a…
