Ossoff isolates after wife tests positive for COVID-19

Georgia Democratic Senate candidate Jon Ossoff will isolate after his wife tested positive for the coronavirus and he began experiencing symptoms himself, his campaign said Saturday.

Ossoff’s campaign said that his wife, Alisha Kramer, who is an OB-GYN physician at a local hospital, received a positive test for COVID-19 on Friday night after experiencing symptoms earlier in the week. Ossoff, who is also experiencing unspecified symptoms, was tested Saturday morning, and his results are pending.

“Dr. Kramer, like so many health care workers, puts herself at risk to care for Georgia’s pregnant women, delivering mothers, and newborn babies. She is a hero,” said Miryam Lipper, the Ossoff campaign’s communications director.

“Jon has not held or participated in an in-person campaign event in over a month and will remain in isolation until medical professionals clear both him and Dr. Kramer. We will keep the public informed with updated information, but right now we are just praying for the family’s health and full and speedy recovery,” she added.

Ossoff, an investigative journalist, is locked in a competitive race against one-term Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) in a state that is expected to be a battleground up and down the ballot.

Amid recent polling and strong fundraising for Ossoff, The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicapper, shifted its rating for the Senate race from “lean” Republican to “toss up.”

Saturday’s announcement puts a renewed focus on the coronavirus outbreak in the Peach State. The pandemic was already expected to play an outsize role in Georgia as the state is gripped both by a rise in COVID-19 cases and a brewing political battle between state and local leaders. 

Georgia, which had one of the most aggressive reopening plans in the country, has seen a steady rise in cases recently. The state reported more than 4,800 new cases on Friday alone, according to figures from the Georgia Department of Public Health updated through midafternoon.

The rise in cases has sparked a fierce political battle in the state, with Gov. Brian Kemp (R) suing Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) to stop her from enforcing a citywide mask mandate.