2nd highest-ranking US Marine tests positive for COVID-19

U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Gary L. Thomas, deputy commandant of Programs & Resources, takes his command portrait at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C., Aug. 8, 2016. Thomas has served in the U.S. Marine Corps for over thirty-two years.

US Marine Corps

• US Marine Corps Gen. Gary Thomas, the assistant commandant of the service, tested positive for the coronavirus.
• Thomas is the second-highest ranking commissioned officer in the Marine Corps.
• The Marine Corps said Thomas is experiencing "mild symptoms, but otherwise is feeling well."
• Thomas is the second officer who attended a recent White House event to test positive.
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US Marine Corps Gen. Gary Thomas, the assistant commandant of the service, tested positive for the coronavirus, the Marine Corps said in a statement.

Thomas, the second-highest ranking commissioned officer in the Marine Corps, has been in quarantine since Tuesday "out of an abundance of caution following notification of close contact with a person who later tested positive," the service said in a statement.

The Marine Corps added that the four-star general is experiencing "mild symptoms, but otherwise is feeling well."

Thomas previously attended an event hosted by a charity organization for the families of fallen service members on September 27. The Gold Star family ceremony at the White House was attended by dozens of senior officials, including President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Defense Secretary Mark Esper, and Coast Guard Adm. Charles Ray.

Trump and Ray, the vice commandant of the Coast Guard, tested for the coronavirus. Trump was announced to have been tested positive on Friday, October 2; and Ray tested positive on Monday, October 5. Ray is quarantining for 14 days.

The event comes one day after another White House-hosted ceremony in honor of Trump's nomination of Judge Amy Coney to the Supreme Court. Since the September 26 event, which was hosted both outdoors and inside the White House basement, a number of officials aside from Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus, including First Lady Melania Trump; White House counselor Kellyanne Conway; and Republican Sen. Mike Lee and Thom Tillis.

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