Lamont’s deputy communications director tests positive for COVID-19
Rob Blanchard, Gov. Ned Lamont’s deputy communications director, has tested positive for coronavirus.
In a statement, Blanchard said he was tested on Thursday and received the positive result on Saturday.
“As many of you know and have seen, I am extremely careful and take all precautions when around the governor and staff,” he said Sunday. “I cannot pinpoint the precise location that I may have contracted the virus as I was negative for my COVID test on Monday and did not begin to display any symptoms until Friday — when I did not come to work at the Capitol.”
Blanchard said he will quarantine for the next two weeks, adding he has been cooperating with public health official in the contact tracing process.
“This is another example of the necessity to get tested and take all necessary measures to protect yourself and others,” he said.
The news comes after the governor’s office confirmed a staffer had tested positive in a statement released Saturday evening.
Paul Mounds, the governor’s chief of staff, said the staff member “was in the proximity of Gov. Lamont as recently as Thursday.”
At the time, Mounds said Lamont “does not meet the criteria for close contact as outlined in the CDC guidelines.”
A close contact is defined as being “within 6 feet of an infected person for a cumulative total of 15 minutes or more over a 24-hour period,” beginning either two days prior to the person experiencing symptoms, or two days before their test if the person is
asymptomatic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mounds said Blanchard, who had yet to be named, “is experiencing mild symptoms and is in selfisolation.”
The statement said Lamont was feeling well and expected to be at his home over the weekend. Mound said Lamont is tested several times a week and will continue his regular schedule.
“Contact tracing is underway, and all members of the Lamont administration who have been in close contact with the staff member will self-quarantine,” the statement read.
This is the second time in a month a member of Lamont’s communication staff has tested positive. In November, Max Reiss, the governor’s director of communications, tested positive for the virus, prompting Lamont to self-quarantine.
A Connecticut state trooper who is a member of Lamont’s security team also had a positive result last month.
“We have implemented further protocols to limit contact with the governor, but this is yet another reminder that the virus is spreading across our state and the across the country,” Mounds said in the statement on Saturday. “We all must continue to keep our guard up by wearing masks, avoiding gatherings, and taking necessary precautions like washing our hands regularly. Our administration, as we have demonstrated already, will take this case seriously and abide by the guidelines.”