Republican North Dakota state Sen. Ray Holmberg reportedly attended a lunch event Tuesday despite developing COVID-19 symptoms over the weekend.
Holmberg, 76, was reportedly still waiting for the results of the COVID-19 test he took Monday when he attended the lunch. He received positive test results just hours after the event ended. (RELATED: COVID-19 Killed New Hampshire House Speaker)
NEW: N Dakota State Sen. Ray Holmberg felt COVID symptoms last weekend & went for a test on Monday. But he admitted that he went to a lunch meeting on Tuesday with other lawmakers, where he took off his mask to eat. Hours later he got positive results.https://t.co/q1r7b2Kyk3
— Olivia Messer ???? (@OliviaMesser) December 11, 2020
“In hindsight, should I have gone? Probably not,” Holmberg told the Daily Beast about his actions. “But it happened, and I’m not gonna deny the obvious. When I received my diagnosis later, I did notify the president’s office.”
“In hindsight, should I have gone? Probably not,” Holmberg told The Daily Beast. “But it happened, and I’m not gonna deny the obvious. When I received my diagnosis later, I did notify the president’s office.”https://t.co/q1r7b2Kyk3
— Olivia Messer ???? (@OliviaMesser) December 11, 2020
Holmberg said there were eight people in attendance at the lunch, and that they were in a large enough room to maintain physical distance between them. He also said that while they did remove their masks to eat, they all wore face coverings throughout the event and no one shook hands.
As for North Dakota’s Rep. Corey Mock, he told @pbmelendez he believes “this is our wake-up call.”
“I just hope people are listening,” he added.https://t.co/q1r7b2Kyk3
— Olivia Messer ???? (@OliviaMesser) December 11, 2020
University of North Dakota President Andrew Armacost, who has previously recovered from COVID-19, was reportedly the only one who sat at a table with Holmberg during the event.