US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Family Members Test Positive for COVID-19

Dr Vivek Murthy, surgeon general of the United States of America, tested positive for COVID-19.

(Photo: The Quint)

US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said on Friday, 18 February, that he and his family had tested positive for COVID-19.

Taking to Twitter, he wrote: "My 5-year-old son, my wife Alice, and I have all tested positive for COVID-19. Our son has a runny nose and low-grade fever but is otherwise eating, drinking, playing with his sister, and watching his favourite cartoons."

"Alice and I have mild symptoms. She has a headache and fatigue. I'm experiencing muscle aches, chills, and sore throat... Our breathing is fine, thankfully."

The announcement came several days after Murthy said his four-year-old daughter had the virus.

New COVID-19 cases in the US have been down by more than 60 percent over the past two weeks. A number of states and cities are lifting masking requirements.

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Thursday that it's "very good news" that new cases and hospitalisations were going down.

"However, when you look at the CDC map of high and substantial activity, it's still really mostly red or orange, which means that it's right up there with a lot of activity," he said.

As of Saturday morning, the US has reported 78,372,010 COVID-19 cases and 933,808 deaths, both the highest in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University data.