According to CNN, Washington Post and other US media reports on the 27th, US government officials revealed that Peter Berkowitz, director of the Office of Policy Planning of the US State Department, tested positive for the Coronavirus.
Berkovic has just visited Britain, Hungary and France recently, and met with government officials from the aforementioned European countries in London, Budapest and Paris respectively. Before the trip, his new coronavirus test result was negative, but he was diagnosed shortly after returning. It is not clear when he contracted the new coronavirus.
According to CNN, European officials complained that Berkowitz did not strictly abide by the anti-pandemic regulations of wearing masks and maintaining social distancing during the visit. The staff of the US embassy in Europe are also concerned about its performance during the pandemic. However, a spokesperson for the US State Department stated that Berkowitz “always followed the host government’s pandemic prevention requirements for wearing masks and took preventive measures.”
Berkowitz’s diagnosis has aroused the vigilance of European countries. After Berkowitz’s visit to London, British officials began to be more “picky” about the US delegation’s visit application and postponed the visit of the US envoy to Iran and Venezuela, Elliott Abrams. The British Embassy in Washington declined to comment.
Recently, a new round of pandemic broke out in the White House. At least five people in the office of US Vice President Pence were infected with the Coronavirus. One of them was Pence’s “personal bodyguard.”
