California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that he and his family are going to self-quarantine after exposure to someone with COVID-19.
“Late Friday evening, @JenSiebelNewsom and I learned that 3 of our children had been exposed to an officer from the California Highway Patrol who had tested positive for COVID-19,” the Democrat wrote on Twitter early Monday morning. “Jen and I had no direct interaction with the officer and wish them a speedy recovery.”
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) provides security for the governor, his wife and their four children, who range in age from four to 11.
“Thankfully, the entire family tested negative today,” he continued. “However, consistent with local guidance, we will be quarantining for 14 days.”
Jen and I had no direct interaction with the officer and wish them a speedy recovery.
Thankfully, the entire family tested negative today. However, consistent with local guidance, we will be quarantining for 14 days.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) November 23, 2020
“We are grateful for all the officers that keep our family safe and for every frontline worker who continues to go to work during this pandemic,” Newsom added.
“After they learned of the exposure to the infected CHP officer, the family was advised by health professionals to wait until Sunday to get tested again, according to Newsom’s office,” the Los Angeles Times reported. “The children who were potentially exposed to the virus were not identified for security reasons.”
Last Monday, Newsom declared that, with rising COVID-19 infections in the state, he was pulling the “emergency brake” on reopening the economy.
“We are sounding the alarm,” Newsom said. “California is experiencing the fastest increase in cases we have seen yet — faster than what we experienced at the outset of the pandemic or even this summer. The spread of COVID-19, if left unchecked, could quickly overwhelm our health care system and lead to catastrophic outcomes.”
The new regulations Newsom ordered put 41 of the state’s 58 counties in the most restrictive of the four-tier system, which affects 37 million residents. The move stopped reopening plans, banned indoor worship, shut down many businesses, and closed schools.
Newsom and his wife came under fire for attending a birthday party with a dozen friends on Nov. 6 at the expensive French Laundry restaurant in Napa, north of San Francisco. The governor said the dinner was outdoors, but pictures tell a different story.
“We’ve obtained photos of Governor Gavin Newsom at the Napa dinner party he’s in hot water over,” FOX-11 in Los Angeles reported. “The photos call into question just how outdoors the dinner was. A witness who took photos tells us his group was so loud, the sliding doors had to be closed.”
EXCLUSIVE: We've obtained photos of Governor Gavin Newsom at the Napa dinner party he's in hot water over. The photos call into question just how outdoors the dinner was. A witness who took photos tells us his group was so loud, the sliding doors had to be closed. 10pm on @FOXLA pic.twitter.com/gtOVEwa864
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) November 18, 2020
In the pictures, no one at the table is wearing a mask or practicing social distancing, even though Newson has been urging both for months.
Newsom eventually apologized. “I made a bad mistake,” he said. “I should have stood up and … drove back to my house. The spirit of what I’m preaching all the time was contradicted. I need to preach and practice, not just preach.”
Related: 7 Times California Democrats Were Accused of Skirting Public Health Guidelines