Klobuchar’s husband back home after virus hospitalization

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s husband has been released from a hospital where he was being treated for low oxygen and pneumonia as a result of the coronavirus, the senator said Thursday.

Klobuchar, a former Democratic presidential candidate, said in a statement that her husband, John Bessler, “took a good turn, was just released and is now recovering at home.”

“Thanks to those who cared for him and for all front line health care workers,” she said. Klobuchar announced Monday that Bessler has the coronavirus and was admitted to a Virginia hospital where he was placed on oxygen, but not a ventilator.

Bessler, a law professor at the University of Baltimore, became ill when he was in Washington and Klobuchar was in Minnesota, she said. He initially thought he had a cold, but quarantined himself immediately anyway. He got tested after he began coughing up blood, and was admitted to the hospital, where he was put on oxygen but not a ventilator.

Klobuchar said earlier this week that she and Bessler had been in different places and she was outside the 14-day window for getting sick, so her doctor advised her not to get tested herself.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia.

Klobuchar said Monday that it took five days for Bessler to be tested, noting that such delays are a problem facing many.

Bessler has taught at the University of Baltimore School of Law since 2009. According to a bio on the university’s website, he teaches courses in civil procedure, contracts, capital punishment, international human rights law and other topics. He is also an author.

During Klobuchar’s campaign for president, he was often by her side. When Klobuchar was in Washington during impeachment proceedings and couldn’t campaign in Iowa herself, Bessler and the couple’s daughter acted as her surrogates, and met with countless Iowa voters on her behalf.