WASHINGTON (REUTERS) - A handful of US State Department employees across the globe have tested positive for the new coronavirus, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday (March 17).

"We've had a couple of employees, you can count them on one hand, who have positive tests," Pompeo said in a news briefing.

"We've handled those exactly the way we're asking every American to respond to those wherever they find themselves in the world."

He gave no details on the precise number of State Department employees who have tested positive for the highly contagious virus, where they were based, or whether they had returned to the United States.

He noted that the State Department has already limited US diplomats' travel.

"We'll continue to take care of our team, we will act in a way that's consistent with the CDC's (US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention) guidelines and the professional medical staff who work here with the State Department," he said.

Pompeo added that he felt "great", though he did not say whether he had been tested for the coronavirus.