Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) is self-quarantining after she had mixed coronavirus test results following campaign events with Vice President Mike Pence and fellow GOP Sen. David Perdue ahead of Georgia’s two highly contested Senate runoff.
In her campaign statement on Saturday, Loeffler said a rapid test immediately came back negative for the virus; a second PCR test, which requires lab analysis, came back positive later that evening.
Loeffler got tested again on Saturday morning, however the results came back inconclusive later in the evening, the senator’s communications director, Stephen Lawson, said.
“Sen. Loeffler followed CDC guidelines by notifying those with whom she had sustained direct contact while she awaits further test results,” Lawson said. “She has no symptoms, and she will continue to follow CDC guidelines by quarantining until retesting is conclusive, and an update will be provided at that time.”
PCR tests — for polymerase chain reaction tests — are more accurate than rapid tests but are still estimated to produce false negatives anywhere from 2% to 37% of the time.
It was gathered that Loeffler attended an outdoor rally on Friday with Pence and Perdue in Georgia. They were all seen together not wearing masks.
This events came as Loeffler competes against Democrat Raphael Warnock to keep her seat ahead of the state’s Jan. 5 runoff elections.
Both elections are highly contested as they will determine whether Republicans or Democrats take control of the U.S. Senate.
