ATLANTA — Atlanta Mayor-elect Andre Dickens has tested positive for COVID-19. He shared the news on social media Monday evening.
"Today I tested positive for COVID-19 with a rapid test. I am feeling well and have mild symptoms," he said in a tweet. "Please be smart about your holiday plans. Get tested. Wear masks. And get vaccinated. I’ll be back out in the city as soon as I can. Stay safe this holiday season!"
Dickens said that since the Omicron variant has been surging, he has increased getting tested for the virus to every other day. He said he is still waiting the results of a PCR test. Dickens said he is fully vaccinated.
He added that he is uncertain when he was exposed, but he's asking others who he might have been in close contact with during the past week to get tested and to quarantine.
On Saturday, December 18, Dickens attended the annual Mayor's Masked Ball fundraiser, hosted by the departing Mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms.
According to Dickens' statement on Monday about taking a rapid test every other day, he would have also taken a rapid test on Saturday and it would have shown that he was negative.
Another one of the many events and meetings Dickens attended in the past week to ten days was a program at the White House on December 14 with other mayors-elect from across the country, where they would have undergone testing prior to admittance. They met with President Biden in the Oval Office. Photos of the meeting show everyone was masked.
Doctors have found that COVID symptoms can emerge as soon as two days after infection, or as long as 14 days after infection.
Monday evening Mayor Bottoms' office said she tested negative.
Normally, someone who tests positive would quarantine for seven to ten days after the symptoms emerge. That would mean if Dickens' case remains mild and then his symptoms go away, he would be through with quarantine no longer than about three days prior to his January 3 Inauguration ceremonies.
His team has not announced plans for that day, or whether events will be scaled back if cases and hospitalizations in Georgia continue to rise again.