The governor of Montana, Greg Gianforte, has tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Republican, who had a first vaccine shot last week, will self-isolate for 10 days, in accordance with public health guidelines and his doctor’s recommendations, his office said. His wife, Susan Gianforte, was also tested and was showing no symptoms while awaiting results.
Gianforte said he and his staff had been regularly tested since he was sworn in on 4 January. Staff were to be tested again on Tuesday and people with whom the governor has had recent close contact had been notified, the governor’s office said.
Gianforte is in his first term as Montana governor, having run unsuccessfully against the Democrat Steve Bullock in 2016.
Gianforte then ran for the US House of Representatives in a 2017 special election. He made national news in May that year when he attacked Ben Jacobs, then a reporter for the Guardian, during a campaign event.
The body-slamming attack, captured on audio by Jacobs and corroborated by Fox News reporters, resulted in a misdemeanor assault charge.
Though an aide initially put out a false statement about the attack, Gianforte pleaded guilty to assault and was fined and sentenced to anger management classes. He also agreed to donate $50,000 to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
Gianforte won Montana’s sole seat in the House anyway, and was re-elected in 2018. In 2020, he beat the Democrat Mike Cooney to become governor.
According to Johns Hopkins University, Montana has recorded more than 105,000 cases of Covid-19 and 1,466 deaths.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Covid-19 vaccines do not cause positive results on viral coronavirus tests.