Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms tested positive for coronavirus, she said on Twitter on Tuesday, saying that "COVID-19 literally hit the house."
COVID-19 has literally hit home. I have had NO symptoms and have tested positive.
- Keisha Lance Bottoms (@KeishaBottoms) July 6, 2020Keisha Lance Bottoms, 50-year-old Democrat approached as possible running mate for Joe Biden in the presidential race, explained on CNN that she and her husband, also diagnosed with Covid-19, had decided to get tested because he was sleeping more than usual since Thursday. She said she only experienced symptoms similar to seasonal allergies. "I am still in shock because I have no idea how we were exposed," she said.
A press conference in a packed room
The mayor, who is in her first term, was noted nationally in a poignant speech after the death in Minneapolis of George Floyd, a black man asphyxiated by a white police officer. She had called on the rioters to return home, believing that they "dishonored" her memory. She was also noticed for her management of the coronavirus health crisis.
The day before her social media announcement, she held a press conference in a room full of police, three Atlanta city council members, the media and family members of Secoriea Turner, a young girl from 8 year old victim of a shooting. She was wearing a mask, but removed it to make long comments about the death of Turner, which happened Saturday near a restaurant that was occupied by armed protesters following the murder of Rayshard police Brooks last month.
The United States is the country most affected by the Covid-19 pandemic in the world, both in number of cases (2,931,142) and deaths (130,248), according to Johns-Hopkins University counts . Coronavirus cases are increasing in Georgia, which reports new daily records. On Monday afternoon, the Georgian Ministry of Public Health confirmed 97,064 cases, an increase of 6,571 cases since Friday.
VIDEO. "You dishonor the life of George Floyd", protests the mayor of Atlanta