Sen. Loeffler has negative coronavirus test 2 days after positive one
Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s latest coronavirus test came back negative, but her campaign said Sunday she will continue to quarantine at least until she gets another negative result.
The Georgia Republican is facing a Jan. 6 runoff in the state’s two U.S. Senate races.
Loeffler took a rapid test Friday evening that came back positive, a day after she campaigned with Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. David Perdue, who also faces a Jan. 6 runoff.
A test Saturday came back inconclusive and Sunday’s test came back negative, Loeffler’s campaign said.
“Out of an abundance of caution, she will continue to self-isolate and be retested again to hopefully receive consecutive negative test results. We will share those results as they are made available. She will continue to confer with medical experts,” Loeffler campaign spokesperson Stephen Lawson said in a statement.
Loeffler’s campaign has said she didn’t have COVID-19 symptoms and is following Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines both to isolate and inform people with whom she had direct contact.
President Trump’s campaign has filed plenty of lawsuits in six states as he tries to upend an election he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
Perdue said before Loeffler’s negative test was announced Sunday that he would remain at home as he awaited Loeffler’s results. Pence staffers have not indicated whether he has been tested for the virus since campaigning with Loeffler or whether he plans to isolate.
Loeffler has held several rallies in recent weeks with crowds packed into close quarters and many audience members not wearing masks.
Loeffler is facing Democrat Raphael Warnock in a Jan. 5 runoff election — one of two races that will determine which party has control of the Senate.
The other race will feature Perdue and Democrat Jon Ossoff. Having won 50 Senate seats in the new Congress, Republicans need one more for control. A Democratic sweep of the Georgia runoffs would yield a 50-50 Senate, giving Vice President-elect Kamala Harris the tie-breaking vote to tilt the chamber to Democrats.
Two staff members for Loeffler tested positive for the virus last month. At the time, a subsequent test for Loeffler came back negative, according to a statement from her office.
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