US Defence Department staff test positive for Covid-19 after base tour

Staff members were in Honolulu as part of Deputy Secretary of Defence Kathleen Hicks's visit to the US Indo-Pacific Command

Staff members traveling with Deputy Secretary of Defence Kathleen Hicks have tested positive for Covid-19. AP

Seven US Department of Defence staff who travelled to Hawaii last week for an official trip have tested positive for Covid-19, the Pentagon said on Thursday.

The staff were in Honolulu as part of Deputy Secretary of Defence Kathleen Hicks's visit to the US Indo-Pacific Command, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. Ms Hicks has tested negative.

The staff were tested following last week's travel and are in quarantine, Mr Kirby said. He added that the Pentagon was contacting all hotels, bases and other personnel who may have come in contact with the travellers.

Ms Hicks stopped in Hawaii as part of a tour of US military bases last week.

All staff on the trip followed CDC prevention guidelines, “including the stringent wearing of masks and social distancing where and when possible”, Mr Kirby wrote.