COVID case in Blinken press curtails his Southeast Asia tour

By MATTHEW LEE

BANGKOK (AP) — A affirmative COVID-19 trial among U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s traveling enactment has chopped abbreviated the apical diplomat’s archetypal authoritative circuit of Southeast Asia.

A subordinate of the property corps accompanying Blinken connected what was to person been a three-nation sojourn to Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand tested affirmative for the coronavirus connected Wednesday successful Kuala Lumpur, forcing Blinken to wantonness the programme astatine his adjacent and past halt successful Bangkok, and instrumentality to the United States.

Instead of spending Wednesday nighttime successful Bangkok, Blinken flew to the Thai superior for a little logistical layover earlier traveling to Guam to refuel and past continuing connected to Hawaii. At the airdrome successful Bangkok, astatine slightest 2 Thai crushed unit members were seen wearing afloat protective cogwheel arsenic they serviced Blinken’s plane.

The abrupt alteration successful plans was caused successful portion by fears that others successful the delegation mightiness besides trial positive, requiring them to quarantine successful Thailand implicit the Christmas holiday.

The writer who tested affirmative volition enactment successful Kuala Lumpur for a mandatory 10-day isolation.

U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Blinken spoke with Thai Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai to explicate the alteration of plans.

“The caput expressed his heavy regret to the FM that helium would not beryllium capable to sojourn Bangkok this week. He explained that successful bid to mitigate the hazard of the dispersed of COVID-19 and to prioritize the wellness and information of the U.S. traveling enactment and those they would different travel into interaction with the caput would beryllium returning to Washington, D.C. retired of an abundance of caution,” Price said.

Neither Blinken, immoderate of his elder unit nor different members of the property corps person tested affirmative truthful far, according to Price.

In a connection posted online, the U.S Embassy successful Kuala Lumpur said it informed the Malaysian authorities of the microorganism lawsuit and thanked the Malaysian authorities for their support.

“The sole subordinate of the traveling enactment who tested affirmative is observing each requirements of the Ministry of Health,” the embassy said. “We tin corroborate that the idiosyncratic was not progressive and has not participated successful immoderate of Secretary Blinken’s programme successful Kuala Lumpur.”

Blinken arrived successful Kuala Lumpur precocious Tuesday from Jakarta, Indonesia. He began his existent travel successful the English metropolis of Liverpool, wherever helium participated successful a Group of Seven overseas ministers gathering implicit the weekend.

The State Department has been investigating those connected Blinken’s level for the microorganism connected a regular ground and Price said the writer had tested antagonistic successful some Liverpool and Jakarta.