New York Gov. Katie Hochul said Sunday she tested positive for coronavirus, the worst Mother’s Day surprise for the state’s first mother.
Aides said Ms. Hochul was asymptomatic and the virus was discovered as part of a routine program to test the governor of Albany.
The news forced Ms. Hochul to cancel a trip she had planned to Washington to see her family and her weekly granddaughter.
“Today I tested positive for COVID-19,” Ms Hochul wrote on Twitter. “Fortunately, I have been vaccinated and amplified and I am asymptomatic. This week I will isolate myself and work remotely. ”
Ms. Hochul’s exposure comes as the state struggles with another option that is more transmissible than previous versions of the virus. The number of cases has been steadily rising over the last two months, although deaths have remained relatively stable.
For weeks, officials have warned that New York may be on the verge of a new leap, although the proliferation of tests at home makes it difficult to assess the extent of the problem.
The increase is coming as coronavirus precautions, such as vaccine and mask mandates, have been lifted across the country.
According to public schedules, Ms. Hochul spent the weekend in Albany, where the risk of infection is high, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cases in the northern part of the state have swelled in recent days, one of the few such jumps in the country.
The governor’s team said she followed regular precautions regarding camouflage.
Ms. Hochul is far from the only government official to be exposed to the virus recently – New York Mayor Eric Adams also tested positive in April.
And in the last, frantic days of the budget talks, many senior members of Ms. Hochul’s inner circle became infected with the virus, even though the governor managed to stay healthy. This is the first time she has been infected, according to her staff.
The exhibition is a difficult month for Ms. Hochul.
In April, her then-vice governor, Brian A. Benjamin, was arrested on federal bribery charges and resigned. That same day, a gunman opened fire on a Brooklyn subway car, fueling city fears and complicating officials’ efforts to declare that he was behind the New York pandemic.
The following week, the state Court of Appeals rejected the U.S. Senate and congressional maps drawn by Democratic MPs in Albany, saying they had violated a New York ban on guerrilla manipulation. The decision caused unrest in Albany and brought new chaos to the primary season.
Ms. Hochul’s staff did not provide a list of plans that could be interrupted at this point by the governor’s quarantine, and said she would work remotely. May is a busy month in Albany, as lawmakers are drafting the latest law, which will be passed at this year’s session, which is due to end on June 2nd.
After announcing his positive test, the governor repeated a message that has already become known: “Reminder to all New Yorkers: get vaccinated and strengthened, get tested and stay home if you don’t feel well,” she said on Twitter.
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