Minnesota AG Keith Ellison tests positive for COVID-19
Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison. (FOX 9)
(FOX 9) - Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on Wednesday that he has tested positive for COVID-19.
In a release, Ellison says he has mild symptoms so far, adding he has been vaccinated and boosted.
Ellison says he is visiting family outside the United States and is currently isolated before returning home. He says he is continuing to work remotely while in quarantine.
Ellison joins Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and Congressman Jim Hagedorn as Minnesota leaders who have tested positive for COVID-19. Governor Walz has since recovered without issue and Hagedorn, who is also battling cancer, said Tuesday he is experiencing mild symptoms.
In a statement, Ellison said he didn't realize anything was wrong until he took a test to get on a plane to travel home.
Full statement from Ellison
I am out of the country visiting family and until yesterday, had no reason to believe I was positive until I took a mandatory COVID-19 test that was required for me to board the plane home. I was surprised to find that it was positive, because up to that point, I had experienced no symptoms. Since then, I have developed mild symptoms but nothing worse than a mild cold. I’m working remotely as normal while isolating in place and will travel home when it’s safe to do so.
I’m very grateful to have been vaccinated and boosted. The science is clear: vaccines and booster shots make COVID-19 symptoms mild and manageable for most of us if we do contract the virus. My case is more proof of that.
We know that the omicron variant is highly transmissible, so if you are eligible and have not gotten vaccinated or boosted, I cannot urge you strongly enough to do so, and to do so now — for yourselves, for your families and loved ones, for your community, and for the sake of our healthcare system. The more Minnesotans who are vaccinated, the more we will all get through to the other side of the omicron wave safely. That’s how we care for each other as Minnesotans and human beings.