Two Loeffler staffers test positive for COVID-19

Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) has tested negative for coronavirus after two of her staffers tested positive. 

Loeffler’s office said in a statement on Saturday that she was tested for COVID-19 on Friday after two of her staffers tested positive. It is unclear when the staffers were tested. 

“On Friday, Senator Loeffler was tested for COVID-19 after learning that two of her Senate staffers had tested positive,” the statement said. “Senator Loeffler tested negative.

“Senator Loeffler is more energized than ever to vote to confirm Amy Coney Barrett as the next Supreme Court Justice on Monday, returning home and traveling the state to meet with hardworking Georgians,” her office said. 

Multiple U.S. senators have tested positive for the virus since the pandemic began. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) became the first senator to test positive for COVID-19 in March, and most recently Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) tested positive earlier in October. 

Other senators that have tested positive, including Sens. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Thom Tillis (N.C.) 

Lee and Tillis were both at the White House event in late September where President Trump formally announced that Barrett was his Supreme Court nominee. Since then, multiple people in Trump’s circle have tested positive, include former White House counsellor Kellyanne Conway, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany and Trump himself.

Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine (D) and Bob Casey (Pa.) said earlier this year that they tested positive for coronavirus antibodies, suggesting that they were once exposed. 

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for a coronavirus testing program in the Senate earlier this month after Trump and first lady Melania Trump tested positive for COVID-19.

“This episode demonstrates that the Senate needs a testing and contact tracing program for Senators, staff, and all who work in the Capitol complex. We simply cannot allow the administration’s cavalier attitude to adversely affect this branch of government,” Schumer said at the time.

“It is imperative that all results be made public in order to contain a possible outbreak and so we can determine the need for Senators and staff to quarantine or self-isolate,” he added.