• Perdue quarantines ahead of runoff elections in Georgia,
SAVANNAH, Ga. — Republican Sen. David Perdue was forced into quarantine Thursday in the home stretch of Georgia’s highstakes Senate runoffs, disclosing just five days before the election that he had been exposed to a campaign worker infected with the coronavirus.
Mr. Perdue’s campaign did not say how long he plans to stay in quarantine, but guidelines of the federal Centers for Disease Control say those exposed to the virus can resume normal activities after seven days if they have a negative test result.
It’s bad timing for Mr. Perdue and fellow Republicans heading into critical runoffs that will determine control of the Senate. Following the CDC’s guidance would keep Mr. Perdue in isolation for the remainder of the campaign, including a planned Georgia rally Monday with President Donald Trump.
“This morning, Senator Perdue was notified that he came into close contact with someone on the campaign who tested positive for COVID-19,” the Perdue campaign’s statement said. “Both Senator Perdue and his wife tested negative today, but following his doctor’s recommendations and in accordance with CDC guidelines, they will quarantine.”
The statement went on to say Mr. Perdue’s campaign “will continue to follow CDC guidelines.”
Both Mr. Perdue and fellow GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler are on Georgia’s runoff ballot
Tuesday. Mr. Perdue faces Democrat Jon Ossoff, while Ms. Loeffler faces Democrat Raphael Warnock.
If both Republican incumbents lose, Democrats will control the Senate.
Mr. Perdue’s campaign did not identify the worker who tested positive.
Mr. Perdue, a former Fortune 500 chief executive, is the latest high-profile Georgia politician forced to selfisolate after being possibly exposed to the disease, which has killed more than 10,000 Georgians and sickened more than 550,000 others.
In late November, Ms. Loeffler self-quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19. Her campaign said she developed no symptoms, and she resumed campaigning after later tests
came back negative.
And days before the November election, Gov. Brian Kemp went into self-quarantine after U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson disclosed he tested positive for the coronavirus. The two Republican politicians had attended a crowded indoor political event together shortly before the announcement.
Both Mr. Perdue and Ms. Loeffler have frequently worn masks on the campaign trail, but have also attended large events — including rallies with Mr. Trump and Vice President Mike Pence — where people attending crowded close together, many of them without masks.
Mr. Perdue had to sit out a joint campaign event scheduled Thursday with Ms. Loeffler,
but it was not immediately clear how it would shape the rest of the busy campaign schedule ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
Mr. Perdue had been scheduled to join Mr. Trump along with Ms. Loeffler on Monday for a rally to fire up turnout in heavily conservative northwest Georgia.
Democrats are also bringing their heavy hitters to the state. Vice President-elect Kamala Harris plans to campaign Sunday for Mr. Ossoff and Rev. Warnock in Savannah, followed by Presidentelect Joe Biden sharing a stage with the Democrats on Monday in Atlanta.
More than 2.8 million Georgia voters have already cast runoff ballots either by mail or during in-person early voting.