The Republican governor will isolate himself for 10 days according to his doctor’s instructions and public health guidelines and intends to work from home, his office said in a statement Monday.
Montana’s first lady, Susan Gianforte, has also been tested for Covid-19 and is awaiting results, but has not yet shown any symptoms, the governor’s office said. The governor’s staff was to be tested on Tuesday morning as a precautionary measure and all those with whom the governor came into close contact were notified.
Gianforte received his first vaccine with the Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that building immunity after vaccination “usually takes a few weeks,” which means a person could have positive results before the vaccine comes in. Vaccination prevents the disease and the severity of the disease.
Gianforte urged the mountaineers to get vaccinated and on April 1 opened vaccines for residents aged 16 and over. In February, he let the state-wide mask mandate expire, but said local communities could continue to apply the mandates.
“Since we are not out of the forest yet, I will continue to wear a mask and encourage all Montanians to do the same,” the governor said during a February signing ceremony.
Gianforte is the last American governor to give positive results for Covid-19 after Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy
tested positive for Covid-19 in February. At least eight other governors, both Democrats and Republicans, tested positive for the virus last year, with at least a dozen others forced to quarantine after a potential exposure to Covid-19.
Last summer, Gianforte, who took office in January, quarantined himself and suspended his personal campaign for governor after his wife and co-worker attended an event with Donald Trump Jr.’s girlfriend Kimberly Guilfoyle. ., who tested positive for coronavirus. .
CNN’s Andy Rose contributed to this report.
