Officials failed to disclose two positive COVID-19 cases amongst personnel traveling with Antony Blinken on Southeast Asia trip

• The Pentagon confirmed to CBS that two additional people on Antony Blinken's Southeast Asia trip tested positive for COVID-19.
• Blinken's trip was cut short on Wednesday after a journalist tested positive for COVID-19.

The Pentagon confirmed Friday that two additional people traveling with Secretary of State Antony Blinken during his trip to Southeast Asia tested positive for COVID-19, CBS News reported.

Instead of continuing on for a scheduled visit to Thailand, the trip came to an early halt on Wednesday after one of the reporters in the press pool traveling with Blinken tested positive for COVID-19.

The State Department did not announce that two members of the Air Force flight crew also tested positive, and only acknowledged the cases in response to inquiries by CBS, the outlet reported.

At least one of the Air Force flight crew members received a positive COVID-19 test result one day before the reporter, a senior State Department official confirmed to CBS.

—Ruffini (@EenaRuffini) December 18, 2021

Officials with the State Department told CBS every member of the traveling party was required to take several COVID-19 tests throughout the trip, but that Department of Defense personnel do not have to undergo the same testing regime and can obtain waivers to avoid having to test in each country.

Blinken was supposed to visit the United Kingdom, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Hawaii but returned to the US out of "an abundance of caution," according to a State Department press release on Friday, which also did not mention that additional members of the crew tested positive.

When asked for comment, an Air Force spokesperson said the two air crew members who tested positive were fully vaccinated and neither were in close contact with Blinken or senior staff.

"One aircrew member is asymptomatic, while the other is experiencing mild symptoms. Both are following host nation COVID-19 protocols," the Air Force spokesperson told Insider in an email. "All Air Force aircrew members supporting overseas DV travel are tested before flights departing the US, on the ground in every country that requires testing, and upon return to the United States."

The State Department did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.