Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., who accompanied Joe Biden in Georgia earlier this week, tested positive for coronavirus Thursday.
In making the announcement, the president-elect was not considered a close contact of Richmond because their interactions in Georgia on Tuesday "happened in open air, were masked and totaled less than 15 consecutive minutes, the CDC’s time frame for close contact," transition team spokesperson Kate Bedingfield said in a statement, per The Hill.
Bedingfield added Richmond and Biden traveled separately to Georgia. The president-elect took a coronavirus test Thursday and tested negative.
Richmond, the closest person to Biden to test positive for COVID-19 to date, originally tested positive using a rapid test Wednesday. He then developed symptoms and took a second test Thursday.
"Richmond will quarantine for a period of 14 days and will produce two negative PCR tests before he returns to any in-person work in Congress or on the transition," Bedingfield said.
On Wednesday, the transition said a reporter who traveled with Biden to Georgia had tested positive for the virus. A Biden press staffer went into quarantine, as did two individuals who drove Richmond's car during the trip.
Richmond, 47, was a top adviser to the Biden campaign and is expected to join the White House in a similar advisory role after the Jan. 20 inauguration.
Four other House members have announced they tested positive for COVID-19 in the past several days. They were Reps. Joe Wilson, R-S.C., Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., Ken Calvert, R-Calif., and Mike Rogers, R-Ala.
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