Two Democratic U.S. Senators over the past 24 hours have announced they have tested positive for coronavirus.
On Thursday U.S. Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia revealed that he and his wife, George Mason University interim president Anne Holton, tested positive for coronavirus antibodies. On Friday, U.S. Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania also announced he had tested positive for the virus.
“We each tested positive for coronavirus antibodies this month,” Sen. Kaine said in a statement. “There is still too much uncertainty over what protection antibodies may actually provide. So we will keep following CDC guidelines — hand-washing, mask wearing, social distancing. We encourage others to do so as well.”
Politico reports Kaine earlier had tested positive for the flu, but “continued to experience symptoms. In April, both Kaine, and his wife, Anne, were told they could have mild cases of coronavirus, but were not tested because of a shortage in testing. The symptoms went away in mid-April, he said.”
In his statement Kaine added that the coronavirus “antibodies could make us less likely to be re-infected or infect others, there is still too much uncertainty over what protection antibodies may actually provide.”
Senator Casey “said Friday that he experienced mild flu-like symptoms in April and quarantined in Scranton after consulting a physician,” WGAL reports. “The senator said the symptoms went away on their own, and he was never tested for the coronavirus.”
“On Wednesday afternoon,” Casey said in a statement, “I received the results of a COVID-19 ELISA IgG Antibody Test, which were positive. This positive test means that I likely had COVID-19 at some point over the last several months and have since developed an antibody response to the virus.”
Casey will donate plasma to help coronavirus victims.