John Kerry Tests Positive For COVID At UN Climate Talks

John Kerry Tests Positive For COVID At UN Climate Talks

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt (AP) — U.S. Climate Envoy John Kerry has tested positive for COVID-19 at the U.N. climate talks in Egypt, a spokeswoman said late Friday night, the latest setback for what appeared to be stalled negotiations that were already going into overtime.

“He is fully vaccinated and boosted and experiencing mild symptoms. He is working with his negotiations team and foreign counterparts by phone to ensure a successful outcome of COP27,” spokeswoman Whitney Smith wrote in a statement late Friday.

Kerry’s illness was sure to add to worries about the speed of negotiations, which were scheduled to end Friday but are continuing with no clear end in sight.

U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry attends a session on the Global Methane Pledge at the COP27 U.N. Climate Summit, Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

AP Photo/Nariman El-Mofty)

Negotiations, at least those in public, hit a lull Friday afternoon into the evening, as press conferences and plenaries were postponed or cancelled. Diplomats said they hoped for late night progress as they changed airline reservations for talks going into extended overtime in Egypt.

Delegates said there was some headway being made, especially on the most difficult sticking point. That’s the issue of