Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, the incoming director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, tested positive for COVID-19 after traveling to Georgia for a campaign event on Tuesday.
President-elect Joseph R. Biden, who was at the same event, tested negative on Thursday and was not in “close contact” with Mr. Richmond, according to Kate Bedingfield, a spokeswoman for Mr. Biden’s transition team.
“Richmond’s interactions with the president-elect happened in open air, were masked and totaled less than 15 consecutive minutes, the CDC’s timeframe for close contact,” Ms. Bedingfield said.
Mr. Richmond tested positive on both Wednesday and Thursday and Mr. Biden tested negative on Thursday, she said.
Mr. Biden and Mr. Richmond traveled to the state separately for a campaign event on behalf of Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, who are seeking to oust Republican Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue in runoff elections on Jan. 5.
Neither of the candidates nor anyone on their campaign teams were in close contact with Mr. Richmond, according to Ms. Bedingfield.
Mr. Richmond was in close contact with two people who drove his car on the trip and all three of them are now apparently self-quarantining.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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