[ad_1]
SAVANNAH, Ga (AP) – Republican Senator David Perdue was forced into quarantine on Thursday at the Georgian Senate second-round house, revealing just five days before the election that he had been exposed to an infected campaign agent by the coronavirus.
Perdue’s campaign did not say how long he plans to remain in quarantine, but federal Centers for Disease Control guidelines say people exposed to the virus can resume normal activities after seven days if the test result is negative. .
It’s a bad time for Perdue and her fellow Republicans as they head for a critical second round that will determine control of the Senate. Following the advice of the CDC would keep Perdue in isolation for the remainder of the campaign, including a planned rally in Georgia on Monday with President Donald Trump.
“This morning, Senator Perdue was informed that he had come into close contact with someone in the campaign who had tested positive for COVID-19,” the Perdue campaign statement said. “Senator Perdue and his wife tested negative today, but on the recommendation of his doctor and as directed by the CDC, they will be quarantined.”
The statement went on to say that Perdue’s campaign “will continue to follow CDC guidelines.”
Senator Perdue and compatriot Kelly Loeffler are both in the Georgia poll on Tuesday. Perdue takes on Democrat Jon Ossoff, while Loeffler takes on Democrat Raphael Warnock.
If the two Republican incumbents lose, the Democrats will control the Senate.
Perdue’s campaign did not identify the worker who tested positive for the virus.
At the end of November, Loeffler went into quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19. Her campaign said she had not developed any symptoms and resumed the campaign after subsequent tests came back negative.
Perdue and Loeffler frequently wore masks during the election campaign, but also attended large events – including rallies with Trump and Vice President Mike Pence – where people gathered nearby, many of them without mask.
Perdue was due to join Trump with Loeffler on Monday for a rally to increase turnout in the very conservative northwest Georgia.
Democrats also bring their heavy hitters to the state. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris plans to campaign for Ossoff and Warnock in Savannah on Sunday, followed by President-elect Joe Biden sharing a stage with Democrats on Monday in Atlanta.
Perdue is seeking his second term in the Senate in a state where Democrats are gaining influence, in large part due to a growing non-white population in suburban Atlanta. In November, Biden became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win Georgia since 1992.
More than 2.8 million Georgian voters have already voted in the second round by mail or in an early vote in person. That’s more than half of the 5 million votes cast statewide in the November 3 election.
[ad_2]
Source link