Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a former Democratic presidential candidate, announced Monday that her husband, John Bessler, has been hospitalized with coronavirus.
“My husband has coronavirus,” Klobuchar wrote in messages on Twitter and Instagram. “I love him & not being able to be by his side is one of the hardest things about this disease. So many are going through this & much worse. I pray for him & you & meanwhile I will do all I can to get help to the American people.”
Bessler, a professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law, reportedly got sick “when I was in Minnesota and he was in Washington D.C.,” Klobuchar wrote.
The senator said she has not seen her spouse in two weeks.
They initially thought he had a simple cold, she said.
“He kept having a temperature and a bad, bad cough and when he started coughing up blood he got a test and a chest X-ray and they checked him into a hospital in Virginia because of a variety of things including very low oxygen levels which haven’t really improved. He now has pneumonia and is on oxygen but not a ventilator,” she wrote.
Rand Paul tests positive
On Sunday, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky announced he tested positive for the virus and had self-quarantined, according to his official Twitter account.
He was the first known U.S. senator to be diagnosed with the virus.
The Louisville Courier-Journal reported Paul attended a March 7 fundraiser in Louisville, where two guests later tested positive for the virus.
On Sunday, multiple news outlets reported that Paul had recently worked out in the Senate gym, and that Paul had also gone swimming and attended a GOP lunch with several of his Senate colleagues before learning of the diagnosis.
Other lawmakers self-isolating
Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who recently had interactions with Paul, have self-quarantined. Sens. Cory Gardner, R-Colorado, and Rick Scott, R-Florida, are also in self-quarantine after interactions with others who tested positive for the virus.
Last week, Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, R-Florida, and Ben McAdams, D-Utah, also announced their own positive diagnoses. McAdams has since been hospitalized.
At least 15 lawmakers, including Diaz-Balart and McAdams, remain self-quarantined after coming into contact with infected people. They include Sen. Ted Cruz, who is self-quarantined, and Reps. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Doug Collins of Georgia, who are also isolated after coming into contact with the virus at the recent conservative CPAC conference, according to The New York Times.
Sen. Lindsey Graham also self-quarantined after meeting with two people who later tested positive. Reports say he has since tested negative for the virus.
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise is also in self-quarantine after meeting with Diaz-Balart.
Plans to keep working
Klobuchar, who ended her Democratic campaign for president March 2, said she is not showing any symptoms and would continue working. She said she does not plan to be tested for the virus now.
“I hope he will be home soon. I know so many Americans are going through this and so much worse right now. So I hope and pray for you, just as I hope you will do for my husband. Meanwhile I am working in the Senate to get help to the American people.”
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