HHS secretary tells staff: my wife is sick with Covid

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar informed staff Thursday evening that his wife, Jennifer, had tested positive for Covid-19, according to an email shared by HHS.

“Today my family learned that my wife Jennifer has tested positive for Covid-19,” Azar wrote in an email. He added that his wife “strictly followed public health guidelines” and isolated herself immediately after her first symptoms and even after being diagnosed negative from a first instant test. A subsequent molecular test, which is more reliable, found it to be positive, Azar added.

Azar said he and his children tested negative and were not showing any symptoms. The HHS secretary also said he would continue to work on the advice of his doctor and public health experts like CDC Director Robert Redfield.