Cedric Richmond a close adviser to President-elect Joe Biden, has tested positive for coronavirus, the transition team announced on Thursday afternoon.
Biden picked Richmond as his director of the Office of Public Engagement and has been one of his top advisers on the transition team. He will quarantine for 14 days and be tested twice before returning to in-person work.
“Richmond’s interactions with the president-elect happened in open air were masked and totaled less than 15 consecutive minutes, the CDC’s timeframe for close contact. Richmond traveled to Georgia on his own and not with the president-elect,” Biden spokeswoman Kate Bedingfield said in a statement.
Richmond recently traveled to Atlanta for a Tuesday campaign event for the Senate runoff elections in Georgia, where Biden was also speaking. However, Biden and Richmond were not on the plane together as the congressman traveled to the Peach State on his own.
Biden was tested for COVID-19 with a PCR test on Thursday and COVID-19 was not detected, according to the transition team.
This is a breaking news story and it will be updated.