Lloyd Austin was hospitalized on Monday due to complications from a medical procedure, but the Ministry of Defense did not announce this until late Friday.
In the United States, the Minister of Defense Lloyd Austin says that he takes full responsibility for the secrecy surrounding his nearly week-long hospitalization period. Austin promised in his statement greater transparency in information than before.
The case made headlines when it emerged that Austin, 70, had been in hospital since New Year’s Day. It has been surprising that the information about Austin’s hospitalization was not shared with the members of Congress and the leading officials in charge of security at the Pentagon until Friday.
News channel by NBC News according to Austin had been in the intensive care unit for four days. According to the channel, the Ministry of Defense did not inform the high-ranking officials of the White House about being hospitalized until Thursday.
Defense Minister Austin admits that the matter should have been properly informed to the public and announced that he is committed to doing better in the future.
The spokesman for the Ministry of Defense has said that Austin’s hospitalization was due to complications caused by a “minor medical procedure” and that the Minister of Defense started working from his hospital bed on Friday.
Reuters, AFP
The news is updated.