Milwaukee's Acting Mayor Tests Positive For COVID-19

MILWAUKEE, WI — City of Milwaukee acting Mayor Cavalier Johnson announced Sunday that he contracted COVID-19 as cases rise in Milwaukee County.

Johnson tested positive Sunday as a part of his routine testing, he said in a statement. He was vaccinated and boosted, and was feeling mild symptoms. Others in his family tested negative, he added.

The acting mayor urged residents to take steps such as getting vaccinations and booster shots and wearing KN95 masks to prevent the further spread of COVID-19.

"All of us want this pandemic to be over but it isn’t over yet," he said. People should get vaccinated to keep hospital beds open, to relieve the burden on health care workers and to protect children, he added.

The acting mayor was sworn in at Bay View High School on Dec. 23 after former Mayor Tom Barrett left to become the U.S. ambassador to Luxembourg.

Facebook posts showed that Johnson toured Milwaukee facilities and rang the bell at Milwaukee City Hall on New Year's Eve before he tested positive.

The seven-day average for new COVID-19 cases in Milwaukee County was 873 cases per week, county data showed. There were 576 new cases on Dec. 26.

Some 57.1 percent of Milwaukee County residents had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, county data showed.

See Also:

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