Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (’87) announced on Saturday that he has checked into Morristown Medical Center just hours after announcing he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
According to Christie, the check-in was a “precautionary measure” due to his history of asthma.
Christie, a Seton Hall Law School graduate, is now one of 17 people in President Donald Trump's orbit to have tested positive for the virus – a number which includes Trump himself, who was transported to Walter Reed Medical Center via Marine One on Friday evening.
The former governor previously had said he attended several days of debate preparation for Trump and also attended the Rose Garden ceremony last Saturday in which the president announced the nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
https://twitter.com/GovChristie/status/1312510988478889985?s=20
Several others who attended Saturday’s Rose Garden event have also tested positive, including former White House senior advisor Kellyanne Conway, First Lady Melania Trump, Notre Dame President Fr. John Jenkins and two sitting Republican Senators -- Mike Lee of Utah and Thom Tillis of North Carolina.
“I just received word that I am positive for COVID-19,” Christie said in a tweet Saturday morning. “I want to thank all of my friends and colleagues who have reached out to ask how I was feeling in the last day or two. I will be receiving medical attention today and will keep the necessary folks apprised of my condition.”
Christie began trending on Twitter Friday evening as rumors began to swirl that he had tested positive, though the official announcement did not come until Saturday.
Christie said on Friday night that he felt fine and had no symptoms, noting he had previously been tested for the virus as recently at Tuesday, with the result coming back negative.
Nicholas Kerr can be reached at nicholas.kerr@student.shu.edu. Find him on Twitter @nickdotkerr.
