HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont’s deputy communications director, Rob Blanchard, is in quarantine after testing positive for the coronavirus, he announced Sunday.
Blanchard said in a statement posted on Twitter that he was tested on Thursday and received the positive result on Saturday. “As many of you know and have seen, I am extremely careful and take all precautions when around the governor and staff,” he said. “I cannot pinpoint the precise location that I may have contracted the virus as I was negative for my COVID test on Monday and did not begin to display any symptoms until Friday - when I did not come to work at the Capitol.”
Blanchard came forward after Lamont’s chief of staff, Paul Mounds, announced Saturday that an unnamed member of the governor’s staff had tested positive.
Mounds said in a statement that Lamont was close to the staff member as recently as Thursday but did not meet the criteria for close contact as outlined by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Lamont, a Democrat, is feeling well but will undergo regularly scheduled testing in the coming days, Mounds said. The governor had no public events scheduled for the weekend.
“We have implemented further protocols to limit contact with the governor, but this is yet another reminder that the virus is spreading across our state and the across the country,” Mounds said. “We all must continue to keep our guard up by wearing masks, avoiding gatherings, and taking necessary precautions like washing our hands regularly.”
Blanchard said he would quarantine for the next two weeks, adding he has been cooperating with public health official in the contact tracing process.
Mounds said Blanchard, who had yet to be named, was experiencing mild symptoms.
Lamont went into quarantine in November after his chief spokesperson tested positive for COVID-19.
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