Alaska's governor is quarantining after possible coronavirus exposure

By Nathaniel Herz

Published February 22, 2021 at 8:45 AM AKST

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy speaks at a news conference at his Anchorage office on Friday, Sept. 27, 2019, where he announced that he'd selected Anchorage GOP Rep. Josh Revak to fill the state Senate seat opened by the death of Chris Birch earlier this year. Dunleavy said he was not ready to call the Legislature into a special session to address a supplemental Permanent Fund dividend payment that he's pushed for. (Photo by Nat Herz / Alaska Public Media)

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy is quarantining at his home in Wasilla after one of his close contacts tested positive for COVID-19, the governor's office said in a prepared statement Monday.

"After receiving a COVID-19 rapid test, the governor immediately went into self-isolation at his home in the Mat-Su Valley," the statement said. "The test result came back this morning and was negative; he continues to show no symptoms of the disease."

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Dunleavy will telework from his home for at least seven days and continue to get tested "until it is certain he is free of the virus," the statement added.

The statement did not identify the close contact or provide additional details about how Dunleavy was exposed. It said Dunleavy's exposure was Saturday and that he learned about it Sunday.

Last fall, three of the governor's aides tested positive for COVID-19, though Dunleavy himself did not have a positive test.