MN Republican Officials Get Tested for COVID-19 After Trump Tests Positive

With President Trump now in the hospital after testing positive for COVID-19, state and federal level Republicans that were close to the President at his recent Duluth rally are getting themselves tested for the coronavirus, and some are self-quarantining.

Republican U.S. Representatives Tom Emmer, Jim Hagedorn, and Pete Stauber flew with the President to and from his rally in Duluth on Wednesday night, which had an estimated crowd of 3,000 people. All three said Friday afternoon that their test results came back negative.

GOP Senate candidate Jason Lewis, a former congressman, was part of the greeting committee at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport when Trump arrived Wednesday afternoon, along with Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, his wife Maralee, and House Majority Leader Kurt Daudt. All four of them got tested Tuesday in preparation for Trump’s visit and came out negative. Daudt and Gazelka both said they were getting retested and would self-quarantine.

In addition, state health officials offered guidance today for those who may have been in attendance at that rally, saying that those who weren’t masked or social distanced from others may want to consider getting tested five to seven days after the event, regardless of if they have symptoms or not due to the possibility of asymptomatic spread.