2 US senators announce positive covid tests Thursday
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By Alison Main and Daniella Diaz, CNN
Two US senators — Angus King of Maine and Roger Wicker of Mississippi — announced separately Thursday they have tested positive for Covid-19.
Both senators are fully vaccinated.
King, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, said in a statement that he was tested Thursday morning after he “began feeling mildly feverish” on Wednesday.
“While I am not feeling great, I’m definitely feeling much better than I would have without the vaccine,” King said. “I am taking this diagnosis very seriously, quarantining myself at home and telling the few people I’ve been in contact with to get tested in order to limit any further spread.
His announcement came just hours after Wicker, a Republican, also tested positive for Covid-19 on Thursday morning, according to a statement from his office.
“Senator Wicker tested positive this morning for the COVID-19 virus after immediately seeking a test due to mild symptoms,” Wicker spokesman Phillip Waller said in the statement. “Senator Wicker is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, is in good health, and is being treated by his Tupelo-based physician. He is isolating, and everyone with whom Senator Wicker has come in close contact recently has been notified.”
The Senate is not in session this week due to August recess. The chamber is scheduled to return next month.
Wicker is the latest Republican lawmaker to test positive this summer. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina announced he’d tested positive earlier this month, and a handful of US House members also announced they had the coronavirus since July.
Breakthrough cases remain very rare. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported just 8,000 breakthrough cases resulting in severe disease or death out of 166 million Americans fully vaccinated.
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments Thursday.
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CNN’s Sarah Fortinsky contributed to this report.
