U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler tested negative for the coronavirus on Sunday but will continue to self-quarantine as she awaits more results, the latest twist in a Jan. 5 runoff campaign that will determine control of the U.S. Senate.
Loeffler spokesman Stephen Lawson said Sunday a PCR test that initially came back as inconclusive on Saturday was retested overnight and found to be negative. A rapid test result was negative on Friday, then an earlier PCR test came back positive late Friday.
The Republican campaigned without wearing a mask with Vice President Mike Pence, U.S. Sen. David Perdue and other GOP officials on Friday during a round of stops in North Georgia. She also stumped with Perdue and U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton on Thursday. It’s not immediately clear if they will quarantine, though aides to Perdue and Pence said they were awaiting her results.
“Senator Loeffler’s previously inconclusive PCR results were retested overnight and the results thankfully came back negative,” Lawson said.
“Out of an abundance of caution, she will continue to self-isolate and be retested again to hopefully receive consecutive negative test results. We will share those results as they are made available. She will continue to confer with medical experts and follow CDC guidelines,” he said.
“This can happen sometimes. You can have false positives,” said Dr. Carlos del Rio, an infectious disease specialist who is also executive associate dean of Emory University School of Medicine. ”That’s why when you have someone without any symptoms, it’s better to have more tests to confirm it. I think the senator did the right thing — she’s isolated herself and doing what she needs to do.”
Loeffler, a Republican who faces Democrat Raphael Warnock in the runoff, has kept a busy schedule of rallies since her second-place finish in the Nov. 3 special election.
Her campaign events often draw large crowds where few use face coverings and socially distancing is impossible. At Loeffler’s two events on Friday with Pence, for instance, hundreds gathered in Canton and Gainesville in cramped confines at outdoor venues. An event scheduled for Monday with U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa will go on without Loeffler.
Pence’s office said earlier Sunday he is awaiting a “confirmatory test” from Loeffler and that he’s in regular consultation with White House physicians. Perdue’s campaign spokeswoman Casey Black said he will remain home until Loeffler receives confirmation of her test results.
The pandemic is playing a significant role in the high-stakes campaign, which will decide how aggressively President-elect Joe Biden can pursue his legislative agenda.
Warnock and Jon Ossoff, who is competing against Perdue, have consistently accused their Republican rivals of downplaying the pandemic. The two incumbents have focused on their support for President Donald Trump and economic stimulus efforts they backed as the outbreak worsened.
It’s not the first time the pandemic has upended campaigning in Georgia’s Senate races. Ossoff self-isolated after his wife, Alisha, a physician, contracted the disease. And Gov. Brian Kemp, who appointed Loeffler to the seat, canceled an appearance at a pre-election rally with the senator and went into self-quarantine after he learned he was exposed to the disease.
In a social media post late Saturday, Warnock said he prayed Loeffler’s “test results come back negative and that she is back on the campaign trail soon.”
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