Yang to quarantine after campaign staffer tests positive for COVID-19

Andrew Yang, the former presidential candidate now running for mayor of New York City, is going into quarantine after a campaign staffer tested positive for COVID-19. 

Yang’s campaign said in a statement that it learned of the staffer’s diagnosis Tuesday morning and that Yang has since tested negative and is asymptomatic. The ill staffer most recently attended an outdoor event Sunday.

“In keeping with New York State guidelines, Andrew will conduct all campaign activities remotely for the next eight days. He will not resume in-person events until he receives a negative PCR test after that period,” the campaign said in a statement.

“We’ve begun the contact tracing process to notify anyone who may have been in close contact with the individual who tested positive,” the statement read. “Our safety protocols require staffers who participate in in-person campaign activities get tested on a weekly basis.”

Yang’s quarantine comes as he looks to get his mayoral campaign off the ground. The former presidential contender, who is also a tech entrepreneur, formally launched his bid last week, looking to translate surprising enthusiasm behind his White House bid into his effort to move to Gracie Mansion. 

Yang generated buzz last year with his universal basic income proposal. He’s adopted a version of that in his mayoral campaign with a plan to give 500,000 New Yorkers living in poverty between $2,000 and $5,000 per year. 

So far, he’s won the endorsements of figure such as Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) and Martin Luther King III, the son of civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr. However, he faces a daunting primary field that boasts of many contenders more steeped in the city’s politics.