Governor Kathy Hochul of New York announced on Sunday that she had tested positive for coronavirus – the worst Mother’s Day surprise for the state’s first mother governor.
Aides say Ms. Hochul has no symptoms and that the virus was detected as part of the governor’s testing in Albany.
The news forced Hochul to cancel a trip she had planned to Washington, DC, to see her family and week-old granddaughter.
“I tested positive for COVID-19 today,” Ms. Hochul wrote on Twitter. “Thankfully, I was vaccinated and boosted, and I have no symptoms. I will be quarantining and working remotely this week. ”
Mrs. Hochul’s exposure came when the states were at war with another variant transmittable compared to previous versions of the virus. In the past two months, the number of applications has regular ticking increased, although the death toll remained relatively stable.
For weeks, officials have warned that New York maybe on the verge of a new spike, although the proliferation of home tests has made it difficult to gauge the extent of the problem.
The surge in cases occurred as coronavirus precautions, such as vaccine and mask mandates, have been rolled back statewide.
According to the public schedule, Ms. Hochul spent the weekend in Albany, where there is a high risk of infection, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Support cases have increased in recent daysone of the very few such spikes in the country.
The governor’s team says she is following regular precautions regarding wearing a mask.
Hochul is not the only public official exposed to the virus recently – in April, the mayor of New York City, Eric Adams, also tested positive.
And in the frantic, final days of budget negotiations, many leading members of Hochul’s inner circle have contracted the virus, though the governor has remained healthy. This is the first time she has been infected, according to her staff.
The contact after a difficult month for Ms. Hochul.
In April, her lieutenant governor at the time, Brian A. Benjamin, was arrested on federal bribery charges and resigned. That same day, a gunman opened fire on a subway car in Brooklyn, stoking fears among the city’s residents and complicating officials’ efforts to claim that the trouble New York City’s pandemic is behind it.
Next week, the State Court of Appeals Reject State Senate and congressional maps which Democratic lawmakers in Albany pulled out, saying they violated New York’s ban on gerrymandering parties. The ruling caused an uproar in Albany, and sowed new chaos into the main season.
Ms. Hochul’s staff did not provide a list of plans that could be disrupted at this time by the governor’s quarantine, and said she would be working remotely. May has been a busy month in Albany, as lawmakers put forward legislation that will finally be passed in this year’s session, which is scheduled to end on June 2.
After announcing his positive test result, the governor repeated a message that is now familiar: “A reminder to all New Yorkers: get vaccinated and stay strong. get well, get tested and stay home if you don’t feel well,” she said on Twitter.
