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Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas tests positive for COVID-19

Jeremy Tanner and Nexstar Media Wire

FILE - In this May 25, 2021, file photo, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks with the media outside of the Little Haiti Cultural Center in Miami. Federal immigration agents will stop making mass worksite arrest of immigrants employees suspected of living in the U.S. without legal permission. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued guidance Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, saying the agency would cease such targeted enforcement which has "not focused on the most pernicious aspect of our country's unauthorized employment challenge: exploitative employers." (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

(NEXSTAR) – Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas tested positive for COVID-19 Tuesday morning, according to his office.

Mayorkas, who is fully vaccinated, found out he had the virus after taking a routine test before traveling, DHS spokesperson Marsha Espinosa said in a tweet.


The secretary is working from home and in isolation. He has only experienced mild congestion, Espinosa added.

It’s not yet clear how he contracted the coronavirus and contact tracing is underway.

Washington, D.C. (October 16, 2021) Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, alongside leaders from across the Federal Government, including President Joe Biden, attends the Annual National Police Officers’ Memorial Service at the U.S. Capitol. (DHS Photo by Benjamin Applebaum)

A photo taken Saturday shows Mayorkas attending the Annual National Police Officers’ Memorial Service at the U.S. Capitol, standing just a few feet away from President Biden and the first lady. No one in the photo is wearing a mask.

Biden, who is also fully vaccinated, received a Pfizer booster shot in late September.

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that unvaccinated people are six times likelier to test positive for COVID-19 than fully vaccinated people. The CDC also found that chances of dying from the virus are 11 times higher for people who haven’t had the shot.