Utah Senate President tests positive for COVID-19

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s Senate President Stuart Adams has tested positive for COVID-19. He was scheduled to be at Governor Spencer Cox’s briefing on the state’s COVID-19 testing, however, the virus made that impossible. 

President Adams started feeling symptoms Wednesday night. His positive case come a day after the Utah Department of Health reported the state’s highest number yet.

#BREAKING Utah’s Senate President @JStuartAdams has tested positive for Covid. His spokesperson tells me he was first symptomatic Wednesday night, making day 5 of his quarantine up in time to be in person at the first day of the #utleg. more today on @kslnewsradio

— Lindsay Aerts (@LindsayOnAir) January 14, 2022

Adams’ CDC-guided five-day quarantine will end in time for the president to be in person for the first day of the 2022 Utah legislative session.

“I plan on being there,” he told KSL NewsRadio on Friday. “It’s actually good timing for me. I can actually follow the CDC guidelines and be there on the opening day.”The first day of the 2022 session is Jan. 19.

The House of Representatives held closed-door caucus meetings Wednesday. It’s not yet clear if the Senate did as well.

Second time with COVID-19

This is Senate President Adams’ second time being COVID-19 positive. The Deseret News reported Adams believes he had COVID-19 after attending the 2020 Sundance Film Festival during the first legislative session of 2020. 

“I was sick at the very first of the legislative session after Sundance, but so were a lot of other people, and I think some of those have actually had COVID. So I have no idea how, what or when I had it,” he told the Deseret News.

Adams discovered he had COVID-19 with an antibody test.

Other stories:

• New overnight visitor guidelines at Intermountain Healthcare facilities
• Granite District announces distance learning Jan. 18 through Jan. 21
• Another COVID-19 case count record set in Utah: 12,990 in a single day