Andrew Yang’s high-flying mayoral campaign was forced back to the sidelines Tuesday after a staffer tested positive for COVID-19, putting the candidate into quarantine for at least a week, his campaign said Tuesday.
Campaign officials said that Yang had tested negative initially and is not experiencing symptoms.
However, the long lag time between infection and symptoms mean that the tech entrepreneur-turned-mayoral hopeful cannot be fully cleared to restart public events for days.
“In keeping with New York State guidelines, Andrew will conduct all campaign activities remotely for the next eight days,” a spokesman said in a statement. “He will not resume in-person events until he receives a negative PCR [nasal swab] test after that period.”
Yang entrance into the Democratic primary race last week finally turned the crowded 2021 field into the hotly contested race that had been expected for months.
Another candidate, City Comptroller Scott Stringer, recently returned to in-person campaigning Monday after his own COVID quarantine, following a meeting with Congressman Adriano Espaillat (D-Manhattan and The Bronx).
