Candidate Jason Lewis self-quarantines for 2nd time in week

Published 7:01 am Thursday, October 8, 2020

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MINNEAPOLIS  — Republican U.S. Senate candidate Jason Lewis left the campaign trail for the second time in less than a week Wednesday after learning that he had been in contact with a person who tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Lewis campaign issued a statement saying the person, who was not identified for privacy reasons, tested positive on Wednesday morning. So the former congressman began self-quarantining and making plans to get tested again, in keeping with federal guidelines. The statement said Lewis was feeling fine and displaying no symptoms.

One campaign staffer who had been in contact with Lewis since Monday was also self-quarantining and getting tested, the campaign said.

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Lewis, who’s challenging Democratic U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, had just returned to the campaign trail on Monday. He went into self-quarantine and stuck to virtual events on Friday when it was announced that President Donald Trump had tested positive for COVID-19.

Lewis greeted Trump on his arrival in Minneapolis last Wednesday. But Lewis has said that they did not shake hands and that they stayed several feet apart during the brief welcoming ceremony. And while he flew with Trump on Air Force One to the president’s rally in Duluth, he said they rode in different parts of the plane.