Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has contracted COVID-19.
Bottoms, 50, announced Monday evening she has tested positive for the virus but has not experienced any symptoms.
“COVID-19 has literally hit home,” the mayor said on Twitter. “I have had NO symptoms and have tested positive.”
Georgia is among several states to see an uptick in positive coronavirus cases and hospitalizations in recent weeks following the Memorial Day holiday in late May.
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Roughly 97,000 people in Georgia had tested positive for the virus as of Monday afternoon. It had killed 2,878 Georgians.
In an interview on MSNBC Monday, Bottoms said she did not know where she might have contracted the virus. She and her family members have been diligent about washing hands and wearing masks, she said.
Bottoms said her positive COVID-19 results arrived after she and her family had tested negative about two weeks ago.
“It leaves me for a loss of words because I think it really speaks to how contagious this virus is,” Bottoms said. “We’ve taken all of the precautions that you can possibly take.”
Public health experts and elected officials including Gov. Brian Kemp have urged people over the past week to wear masks in public. So far, the governor has held off on ordering a statewide mask mandate.
The mayor’s announcement comes as she grapples not only with the city’s response to coronavirus but also a spate of violence centered around a burned-down Wendy’s that has been a focal point for recent protests against police brutality and racial injustice.
The fatal shooting Saturday night of an eight-year-old girl, Secoriea Turner, near the Wendy’s restaurant sparked swift condemnation from Bottoms and other officials.
Kemp has placed Georgia under a state of emergency through next Monday in response to Turner’s death and vandalism at the state Department of Public Safety headquarters in Atlanta.
Atlanta authorities said Turner was shot and killed when a group of armed people opened fire on the car in which she was riding across the street from the Wendy’s.
The restaurant was burned down amid protests shortly after Brooks’ killing. Since then, the site has been frequented by armed persons who at times have barricaded the property, according to police.
