Newsom tests positive for COVID-19, his second infection since pandemic began

California Gov. Gavin Newsom tested positive Wednesday for COVID-19 after exhibiting mild symptoms, according to his spokesman Alex Stack.

Newsom will work remotely and self-isolate for at least five days, Stack wrote in a text message to reporters. He added that Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, has tested negative.

Newsom still plans to participate in a news conference Thursday via Zoom with California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta.

The infection marks the second time Newsom has had COVID-19; he also had it in May 2022.

The governor’s illness comes about a week after he rescinded California’s COVID-19 state of emergency, which had given him broad executive powers to protect the state from an unpredictable and deadly virus but also became a political flash point among people who were angered by restrictions he imposed early in the pandemic.

As of Feb. 28, more than 12 million Californians — about 1 out of every 3 people in the state — have tested positive for COVID-19, according to data from the California Department of Public Health. Since the pandemic began, 100,424 deaths in California have been linked to the virus.