Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut, a Democrat, has tested positive for the coronavirus, his office announced Thursday. His office said...
Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut, a Democrat, has tested positive for the coronavirus, his office announced Thursday.
His office said Thursday afternoon that a rapid test carried out by Mr. Lamont showed a positive diagnosis, which was later confirmed by a second rapid self-test. Mr. Lamont was awaiting the results of a PCR test.
The governor, 68, has received a second booster shot on March 31, after federal health officials have authorized additional recalls earlier in the week for the 50+, among other groups. It takes about a week to strengthen the immune systemand it is difficult to know exactly how a person was exposed and infected with the virus.
“I see some noise over there in Britain, why not err on the side of caution and start over?” Mr. Lamont then said, referring to the flood of new cases in Britain, while getting extra recall. “I feel really good. I will be safe at least for the next six months.
Thusday, he said on Twitter that he felt well and had no symptoms.
“We did contact tracing to let people know,” he said. “Luckily I am doubly boosted and encourage everyone to get your shot and booster shots if they are eligible.”
Mr. Lamont said he will self-isolate at home for the next five days and will not attend any in-person events or meetings.
The highly transmissible sub-variant of Omicron known as BA.2 became the dominant version among new US cases, four months after release detected for the first time in the countryside. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated on Tuesday that BA.2 was about 72 percent new cases in the United States during the week ending April 2.
On Wednesday, an average of 489 new virus cases per day were reported in Connecticut the previous week. New cases have increased by 56% in the past two weeks, according to a New York Times Database.
Last month, Mr. Lamont urged people in Connecticut to order rapid tests from covidtests.gov. “With the BA.2 Covid variant spreading across the country, Connecticut is ready,” Lamont wrote. in a tweet. “Families have layers of protection available – vaccines + boosters, quality masks and rapid home tests.”
COMMENTS