The author, entrepreneur and political candidate Wes Moore announced Monday that he has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
Moore, 43, who is seeking the Democratic party’s nomination for Maryland governor, revealed on Twitter that he is infected but asymptomatic.
“Unfortunately, I’ve tested positive for COVID-19,” Moore announced just before noon.
“I’m vaccinated and boosted, and fortunate to be asymptomatic. I urge my fellow Marylanders to please stay safe. I’m isolating and working from home and eager to be back on the campaign trail ASAP.”
The statement did not reveal if Moore suspects how he caught the virus. Numerous Maryland politicians, including Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott, Gov. Larry Hogan, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr., and U.S. Rep. Steny Hoyer have all announced they tested positive for COVID-19.
Covid infections have increased this Spring as the Omicron BA.2 subvariant spread nationwide, though hospitalizations remain relatively low.
As of Friday, the last day for which the Maryland Department of Health released statistics, the positivity rate for Covid infections was 8.55% in Maryland and 508 people were hospitalized.
Nearly 87% of the state’s population aged 5 and older has received at least one vaccination dose according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, while just over 76% is fully vaccinated.
Before Moore launched his gubernatorial campaign he was perhaps best known as the author of the 2010 non-fiction book “The Other Wes Moore,” a story of two men with the same name whose lives followed different trajectories.