Government Mike Dunleavy has tested positive for COVID-19 and has mild symptoms, his office said Wednesday.
Dunleavy’s office said earlier that he had come into close contact with a COVID-positive person on Saturday and would be quarantined at home as a precaution.
“Because the governor was quarantined during his infectious period, no close contacts are known yet,” the governor’s office said in a statement on Wednesday.
Dunleavy tested negative for COVID on Sunday, but began to feel bad Tuesday night, his office said. He took another test on Wednesday morning and it was positive, his office said.
The chief medical officer of Alaska, dr. Anne Zink, and the governor’s attending physician are watching him and will provide updates if necessary, the governor’s office said in its statement.
Dunleavy attended the annual banquet of Alaska Outdoor Council on Saturday in Palmer. The organization’s executive director, Caleb Martin, said he had contacted the governor’s office and was told the close contact did not take place during the event. He said he was unaware that anyone was contracting COVID-19 because of their attendance.
Alaska’s number of COVID-19 cases has dropped, but a rare case of a highly contagious variant of COVID-19 that was originally detected in Brazil has been identified in the state this month.
Public health officials recommend that Alaskans avoid indoor gatherings with non-household members, avoid crowds, wear masks when they are non-domestic members, and stay 6 feet away from anyone who is not in their household.
Dunleavy has not yet had a COVID-19 vaccination. At the age of 59, he is not eligible for the first level of vaccinations, but can now be eligible under provisions that allow essential workers to receive the vaccine. Asked about his vaccination status on Monday, a spokesman for the governor said he would get the vaccine when it was his turn.
More than one in four adults in Alaska received at least one COVID-19 vaccination shot, according to figures from the Department of Health and Social Services in Alaska.
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