Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has tested positive for COVID-19. The 50-year-old politician and lawyer, who is touted as one of the top 10 women likely to be picked as vice president if Joe Biden wins the presidential race this year, made this revelation on July 6.
The governor took to her Twitter handle on July 7 to tweet about testing positive for the deadly disease, despite having no symptoms. She told CNN's Chris Cuomo that she was informed that both she and her husband have contracted the virus just before 6 p.m. ET on July 6, adding that she wanted to get tested because her husband has been sleeping more than usual since last week.
She was understandably in a state of shock after receiving the news, as the mayor claimed she had no idea how they were both exposed. She admitted that she and her husband both had a mild headache and dry cough, which she assumed was due to allergies. "I'm stunned," she told Cuomo.
When Cuomo, who tested positive for COVID-19 this spring, asked if her husband had a fever, Bottoms said he had a fever of 99 degrees, and was experiencing Cuomo dreams, which allude to hallucinating dreams the Cuomo Prime Time host had experienced during his illness.
Bottoms has four children, and one of them has tested positive, while another has tested negative. To make things worse, all four of her children have asthma, a preexisting condition that CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) says is likely to worsen COVID-19 symptoms. The mayor said her diagnosis reflects the highly contagious nature of the virus.
Bottoms said they did everything they thought they need to do to protect themselves from the virus but still tested positive. This shows how easy it is for anyone to contract the virus, which spreads effortlessly. She noted that no one is immune to the deadly virus.
With the nationwide total number of cases reaching 2.9 million on July 6, according to Johns Hopkins University's tally, COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the United States. More than 130,000 American people have succumbed to coronavirus in the country, the university data reveals.
Last month CNN reported, Bottoms, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Sen. Kamala Harris of California, and Rep. Val Demings of Florida were touted as top four vice president prospects. Bottoms has gravitate toward becoming Biden's running mate. When CNN's Jake Tapper asked Bottoms about leaning into the prospect of becoming the president, she bluntly said, yes.