Montana Governor Greg Gianforte tested positive for the coronavirus.
The Republican, who was first vaccinated last week, will be isolated for 10 days, according to public health guidelines and the recommendations of his doctor, his office said. His wife, Susan Gianforte, was also tested and had no symptoms while waiting for the results.
Gianforte said he and his team have been tested regularly since he took office on Jan. 4. The team was due to be tested again on Tuesday and the people with whom the governor had recent contact were notified, the governor’s office said.
Gianforte is in his first term as governor of Montana, after running unsuccessfully against Democrat Steve Bullock in 2016.
Gianforte then ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in a 2017 special election. He made national news in May of that year, when he attacked Ben Jacobs, then a Guardian reporter, during a campaign event.
The body attack, captured on audio by Jacobs and corroborated by Fox News reporters, resulted in a charge of assault for misdemeanor.
Although an aide initially made 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 only seat in the House anyway and was re-elected in 2018. In 2020, he defeated Democrat Mike Cooney to become governor.
According to Johns Hopkins University, Montana recorded more than 105,000 cases of Covid-19 and 1,466 deaths.
The Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that Covid-19 vaccines do not cause positive results in viral coronavirus tests.