National Guard chief gets COVID-19 after overseas trip

By LOLITA C. BALDOR
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — The chief of the National Guard has tested positive for COVID-19 after returning from an overseas trip to visit guard troops in Europe for Thanksgiving. Guard spokesman Wayne Hall says Gen. Dan Hokanson has been working remotely and isolating himself from contact with others all week. Other U.S. officials say Hokanson is fully vaccinated and tested negative while he was abroad, but tested positive when he returned to the U.S. He left for Kosovo on Nov. 21, then traveled to Poland and Spain and returned to Washington last Friday. Officials say he started having symptoms of a bad cold after he got the positive test result.