A Top Coast Guard Official Has the Coronavirus. Other Military Leaders Are in Quarantine.

membership ticker

Autocratic forces are ascendant.

Truth-telling independent media is one remaining bulwark against an autocrat’s unrestrained exercise of power. At a time when billionaire owners of corporate media are making accommodations to political leaders, our nonprofit newsroom cannot be bought, bent, or broken. Depend on it, and please stand with us.

Autocratic forces are ascendant in America. But truth-telling independent media is one remaining bulwark against the unrestrained exercise of power. At a time when billionaire owners of corporate media are making accommodations to political leaders, our nonprofit newsroom cannot be bought or broken. Please stand with us.

Alex Wong/Getty

The coronavirus is a rapidly developing news story, so some of the content in this article might be out of date. Check out our most recent coverage of the coronavirus crisis, and subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.

Admiral Charles Ray, the vice commandant of the Coast Guard, tested positive for COVID-19 and will have to quarantine at home, the Coast Guard announced Monday.

Ray, who is the second-highest-ranking military official in the Coast Guard, tested positive on Monday “after feeling mild symptoms over the weekend,” a spokesperson said. It is not clear if his diagnosis was related to the apparent super-spreader event at the White House on Saturday, September 26, which was held to honor Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett. At least 11 attendees, including President Donald Trump, have since tested positive for the coronavirus, but the White House has declined to conduct contact tracing that would help establish the source of the infections. Ray was at the White House a day after the Barrett event. He “began feeling unwell” on Friday, October 2, and eventually tested positive three days later, according to Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin.

BREAKING: U.S. Coast Guard second-in-command, Admiral Charles Ray, tests positive for #COVID19. pic.twitter.com/SicRxDEEXQ

— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) October 6, 2020

Ray’s diagnosis has already had a sprawling impact on the military. Several senior officials were in close contact with Ray, including Gen. Mark Milley, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and they are now quarantining, CNN reported.

More military leaders could be affected. After news of Ray’s diagnosis broke Tuesday afternoon, Pentagon spokesperson Jonathan Hoffman said Ray was in meetings with “other Service Chiefs” at the Pentagon last week. “Out of abundance of caution, all potential close contacts from these meetings are self-quarantining and have been tested this morning,” Hoffman said. “No Pentagon contacts have exhibited symptoms and we have no additional positive tests to report at this time.”

Already some of the names of Ray’s contacts have trickled out:

BREAKING: CBS News reports top U.S. military officials quarantined after COVID19 exposure:
Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff
Vice Chairman
Army chief of staff
Naval Operations Chief
Air Force chief of staff
CyberCom Commander
SpaceForce operations chief
(@davidmartinmep reports)

— David Begnaud (@DavidBegnaud) October 6, 2020

The United States faces a presidential election in less than a month, and its two highest-ranking military officers—not to mention the commander-in-chief himself—are in quarantine.