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Georgia Governor Quarantines After Congressman He Attended Trump Rally With Tests Positive For Covid-19

This article is more than 3 years old.
Updated Oct 30, 2020, 06:18pm EDT

Topline

Georgia Republican Representative Drew Ferguson announced Friday he tested positive for Covid-19 just days after attending a rally with the state’s Governor, Brian Kemp, who has tested negative, but will be self-quarantining.

Key Facts

Ferguson announced his Covid-19 infection on Twitter, saying was tested after having a slight fever Friday morning and will be self-quarantining and working from home.

On Tuesday Ferguson and Governor Brian Kemp attended a MAGA rally in support of President Donald Trump in Manchester, Georgia, where few attendees were wearing masks or following social distancing guidelines.

Both Kemp and Ferguson also went to an indoor campaign event on Thursday night, which was attended by 100 to 150 people, according to the LaGrange Daily News.

Kemp announced he and his wife, who was also at Tuesday’s rally, were self-quarantining, despite both testing negative for Covid-19.

Ferguson said he has begun contact tracing, though “the vast majority of [his] recent schedule has been virtual.”

This marks the second time Ferguson has had to quarantine – he was in contact with a member of Congress on March 13 who tested positive for the virus, but didn’t disclose who.

Tangent

Georgia has seen record turnout since early voting opened October 12. Voters stood in line for hours to vote for in two Senate races as well as the presidential election. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger predicted 6 million voters will have cast a ballot in this year’s election, almost 2 million more than in 2016, ABC reported.

What To Watch For

While Georgia is a historically red state, Democrats are optimistic about flipping the state with former Vice President Joe Biden up in the polls by an average of 1.7 points, according to FiveThiryEight.

Surprising Fact

Ferguson joins 20 other U.S. Representatives and Senators who have tested positive for the coronavirus. 

 Further Reading

Georgia Republican Drew Ferguson tests positive for COVID-19 (The Hill)

Ferguson tests positive for COVID-19 after attending campaign event in Hogansville with governor, other elected officials (The LaGrange Daily News)

Georgia Sees Record Turnout In First Day Of Early Voting In Tight Races (Forbes)

Amid record early voting turnout Georgia could hit 6 million ballots cast overall, secretary of state says (ABC)

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