'Progressive' Oldest US Supreme Court Justice Hospitalized with Fever and Chills

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Ruth Bader Ginsburg (87), the oldest justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, was hospitalized on the 14th (local time) due to symptoms of fever and chills, CNN and other media reported.

According to reports, Supreme Court spokesperson Kathleen Alberg stated that Justice Ginsburg was admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, on the morning of the same day due to infectious symptoms such as fever and chills and is receiving treatment there. Justice Ginsburg had gone to Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington DC the previous night before being transferred. CNN reported that she had undergone bile duct stent removal surgery at Johns Hopkins University last August for a tumor in her pancreas.

The Supreme Court stated that Justice Ginsburg will remain hospitalized for antibiotic treatment for the time being. Earlier, Justice Ginsburg was hospitalized for one day in May due to cholecystitis and participated in a hearing conducted by phone due to COVID-19 during her hospitalization. Foreign media are paying attention to whether the fever and chills symptoms are related to a COVID-19 infection.

Justice Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Bill Clinton in 1993 and is known for her progressive stance. She has undergone cancer treatment four times. She had pancreatic cancer in 2009 and last year, colon cancer in 1999, and also underwent lung tumor removal surgery in 2018.

President Donald Trump, when asked about Justice Ginsburg's hospitalization during a press conference at the White House, said, "I have not heard about the hospitalization, but I hope she recovers healthily."