NYC health commissioner tests positive for COVID-19

NEW YORK - New York City's health commissioner, the face of the city's campaign to halt the spread of the coronavirus, announced Wednesday that he has been infected with the virus himself.

Dr. Dave Chokshi said in a statement that he was recently tested for COVID-19 and received a positive diagnosis. "I now have mild symptoms, but they are manageable," Chokshi said, adding that he has been in touch with city contact tracers.

It was not clear if Dr. Chokshi had been vaccinated for the virus.

When asked during his daily coronavirus briefing if the commissioner had been vaccinated, Mayor Bill de Blasio on Wednesday said he would let Chokshi speak for himself.

Chokshi was named New York City health commissioner in August 2020 after Mayor Bill de Blasio clashed with the previous commissioner, Dr. Oxiris Barbot. He previously served in the Louisiana Department of Health during Hurricane Katrina.

FILE — In this Jan. 9. 2021 file photo, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Commissioner Dr. Dave A. Chokshi speaks to reporters during a news conference at one of New York City's COVID-19 Vaccine Hubs at the South Bronx Educational

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Chokshi has appeared in public service announcemets urging New Yorkers to follow COVID-19 protocols for mask wearing and maintaining social distance. He called his own diagnosis a reminder "that COVID is still with us and we all must continue to wear masks, wash our hands, socially distance and stay home if feeling ill."

With the Associated Press