Staff member in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office tests positive for COVID-19

A staff member in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office tested positive for the coronavirus this week, and the state is conducting a deep-cleaning and contact tracing effort in response to the infection.

The Governor’s Office has not identified the employee. A statement from Newsom’s office also does not say whether the employee worked in the governor’s Capitol office. The Governor’s Office said disclosing that information could reveal the person’s identity.

The employee had “not interacted with the governor or staff that routinely interacts with the governor,” according to the Governor’s Office.

Newsom said during a press conference Wednesday that his office is ensuring staff members are “appropriately tested and anyone in direct contact goes through the protocols and procedures that we have put out.”

The governor did not provide a number of how many staff members who might have been exposed to the infected staffer are isolating.

“So we are not just preaching, but practicing what we preach,” Newsom said, adding that he’s been tested multiple times since the start of the pandemic and has tested negative. “And it’s just another reminder of how easily transmitted this disease is and how, despite some of the good news in our positivity rates and some of the stability in our case rates we’re seeing across the state, how virulent this disease remains and how easily transmittable continues to be.”

The Governor’s Office also said it learned on Monday another state employee “who works in a shared workspace with some staff from the Governor’s Office” had also tested positive for the virus.

“In this instance as well, the individual had not interacted with the Governor or staff that routinely interacts with the Governor,” the spokesperson said. “Their employer has initiated the state’s COVID-19 protocols for state agencies as well.”

Wednesday’s announcement is the latest in a string of COVID-19 cases among offices for California’s elected leaders. The Capitol shut down in March at the start of the pandemic and has largely remained closed to the public. Twice, the Legislature extended recesses amid a surge in COVID-19 numbers throughout the state and after two Assembly members and some staff members tested positive for the virus this summer.

Republican senators at the end of August were forced into quarantine days before the 2019-2020 was scheduled to close after Sen. Brian Jones of Santee tested positive for the virus. Jones had been in his chamber for a floor meeting during the final days of session and had met with Republican colleagues during a caucus lunch.

This story was originally published October 7, 2020 at 11:24 AM with the headline "Staff member in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office tests positive for COVID-19."