Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms revealed she has tested positive for COVID-19.
On Monday, July 6, 2020, Bottoms tweeted, “COVID-19 has literally hit home. I have no symptoms and have tested positive.”
COVID-19 has literally hit home. I have had NO symptoms and have tested positive.
— Keisha Lance Bottoms (@KeishaBottoms) July 6, 2020
In an interview late Monday evening with CNN’s Chris Cuomo, Bottoms confirmed that not only had she tested positive for the coronavirus but her husband and one of their four children had as well.
“I’m still in a state of shock because I don’t have any idea how we were exposed,” said Bottoms, who described experiencing a mild headache and dry cough that she thought were related to seasonal allergies and her husband sleeping more than usual before the diagnosis was confirmed.
She also noted that all four of their children have asthma. According to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, people with moderate to severe asthma may be at higher risk of getting very sick from COVID-19.
“This is scary,” Bottoms said. “We’ve done all the things that we thought we should do, and for us to still test positive, I think, really speaks to how easily this virus is spread and obviously none of us are immune from it.”
Bottoms has been vocal about the importance of taking safety precautions during the pandemic. She warned residents of Atlanta against being in large crowds and urged everyone to wear a face mask when in public. Bottoms also spoke out against Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to be the first state to start reopening businesses in April after a monthlong shutdown and shelter-in-place order to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
She also faced racial backlash.
On April 23, Bottoms revealed that her son had also been called a racial slur.
“Not only did I receive it but my 12-year-old son received it as well. So that was more concerning to me than anything,” Bottoms said.
That same day, Bottoms used social media to share a disturbing email she received.
The message read, “N—–, just shut up and re-open Atlanta!”
Even more disturbing, Bottoms revealed that her daughter also read the message.
“With my daughter looking over my shoulder, I received this message on my phone. I pray for you,” Bottoms tweeted and also posted on Instagram.
Bottoms followed her statement with a quote from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that read, “Conscientious stupidity or sincere ignorance.”
According to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 97,064 people in Georgia have tested positive for COVID-19, and 2,878 have died deaths from the virus.
Watch the full interview with Bottoms and Cuomo below about learning she had contracted the virus and how she plans to proceed as mayor, wife and mother while quarantining at home.
