Biden's Adviser Cedric Richmond Tests Positive for COVID-19 After Having ‘Interactions’ With Him

By Mary Anne R. First Posted: Dec 17, 2020 11:44 PM EST

One of President-elect Joe Biden's closest advisers has tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday.

According to Biden's transition team, Louisiana Rep. Cedric Richmond tested positive two days after traveling to Atlanta to attend a campaign rally with Biden.

The transition team noted that Richmond was not in close contact with Biden based on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines.

Biden took a COVID-19 test on Thursday, and the results came back negative, according to a The Hill report.

In a statement, Biden transition spokesperson Kate Bedingfield said Biden and Richmond's interactions were done in "open air, were masked and totaled less than 15 consecutive minutes," which is the CDC's timeframe for close contact.

Bedingfield added that Richmond traveled to Georgia on his own and not with the president-elect. A rapid test was done on Richmond on Wednesday after he developed symptoms.

Richmond did undergo a second test on Thursday to confirm the diagnosis.

"Richmond will quarantine for a period of 14 days and will produce two negative PCR tests before he returns to any in-person work in Congress or on the transition," Bedingfield said in an NPR report.

Richmond is set to resign from Congress to join the upcoming Biden administration as a White House senior adviser and director of the Office of Public Engagement.

Ever since last month's election, Biden has stayed close to his home state. The rally was the second time since Election Day that the president-elect has left his home state.

Georgia Campaign Rally

Other officials who also attended the campaign rally were Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Atlanta Congresswoman-elect Nikema Williams.

Voting rights activist Stacey Abrams was also present in the rally. However, based on CDC's guideline of close contact, the attendees also did not come in close contact with Richmond, as reported by Channel News Asia.

The congressman had a crucial role in helping Biden elevate his long-standing relationships with Congressional Black Caucus members.

Richmond was first elected in 2010, at a time when Biden was the vice president of former president Barack Obama.

Richmond is set to take on a public engagement role in the Biden administration, which will allow him to deal with Congress while focusing on the Black community and other minority groups.

Richmond's role will be equivalent to Valeri Jarett's role during the Obama administration.

Richmond was a former chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and among Biden's earliest high-profile supporters. Richmond was also Biden's campaign co-chair.

The news of a second member in Biden's circle contracting the virus is a worrying development, mainly because of Biden's age.

Biden was also seen removing his mask when he delivered his speech at the rally, as reported by the New York Post.

Reports said the 78-year-old president-elect intends to publicly receive his first dose of the recently approved Pfizer-BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine as early as next week.

Biden is scheduled to take office on Jan. 20. He will become the oldest president in U.S. history.

The United States has recorded nearly 17 million Americans contracting the coronavirus with more than 310,000 deaths, mostly elderly. California, Texas, and Florida are the three top states with the most number of COVID-19 cases.