Virus Case Cuts Short Blinken’s Tour of Southeast Asia

Virus Case Cuts Short Blinken’s Tour of Southeast Asia
Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives at Subang Airport, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Dec. 14, 2021. Olivier Douliery/Pool via AP
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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia—A positive COVID-19 test among U.S. Secretary of State Blinken’s traveling party has cut short the top diplomat’s first official tour of Southeast Asia.

A member of the press corps accompanying Blinken on what was to have been a three-nation visit to Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand tested positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday in Kuala Lumpur, forcing Blinken to abandon the program at his next and last stop in Bangkok, and return to the United States.