Whitmer's husband tests positive for COVID; governor isolating pending test results

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is awaiting the results of a COVID-19 test after her husband, first gentleman Marc Mallory, earlier Tuesday tested positive for the virus. 

Whitmer's office said Mallory tested positive for the virus "after feeling under the weather." Whitmer tested negative for the virus after taking a rapid test but is awaiting the results of a PCR. 

"Like so many families around the country, the governor and her husband took extra precautions to limit contact with others to stay safe over the holidays as they celebrated Christmas with their immediate family members in Michigan," said Bobby Leddy, a spokesman for Whitmer. "Thankfully, the entire family is fully vaccinated and boosted, so the governor has not tested positive and is not experiencing symptoms."

Whitmer is isolating in a separate area of the governor's Lansing home until her PCR results come back, Leddy said. She also is working to communicate to all those with whom she's recently come into contact. 

Whitmer's office said she continues to work to increase testing access, encourage vaccination and masks and secure treatments like monoclonal antibodies.

"We wish the first gentleman a speedy recovery and hope he feels better soon," Leddy said. 

In recent days, Whitmer has had no publicly disclosed events. She is scheduled to give the state-of-the-state address in the coming weeks. While no firm date has been announced, the annual address usually occurs in late January. 

Mallory's diagnosis comes roughly a month after Michigan officials identified the first cases of the highly contagious omicron variant and as Michigan continues a surge in new COVID-19 cases. 

When asked about the possibility of reinstating public health orders to slow the spread, Whitmer told reporters last month that the state had different tools, such as vaccinations, masking and treatment options, to help mitigate the effects of omicron. 

"In the early days, when we didn’t have tools, the goal was not to come into contact with COVID," Whitmer said. "We know that there’s an increased likelihood that each of us is going to come into contact with COVID at some point. We’re seeing my colleagues test positive who …they’re triple vaccinated, they mask up, wash their hands, they social distance, but that’s the nature of this particular variant." 

On Monday, the state reported a seven-day average of 12,247 new COVID-19 cases per day over five days. The same day, the state health department reported 3,903 adults hospitalized with confirmed cases of the virus in Michigan, a slight uptick from weeks prior but still down from a record high of 4,518 adult hospitalizations on Dec. 13. 

eleblanc@detroitnews.com