Brooklyn state senator tests positive for COVID-19

July 6, 2020 Marina Villeneuve Associated Press

New York State Sen. Julia Salazar. Photo: Hans Pennink/AP File

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The leader of the state Senate says a New York City senator has tested positive for COVID-19.

State Sen. Julia Salazar, who represents Bushwick, Cypress Hills, Greenpoint and Williamsburg, along with parts of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brownsville and East New York, has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a Thursday news release released by Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

“Sen. Salazar began feeling mild symptoms and immediately self-quarantined and got tested,” Stewart-Cousins said.

She said Salazar, a fellow Democrat, is still experiencing mild symptoms and is still quarantining at home.

Salazar’s office did not immediately respond to request for comment Thursday. Salazar is among several progressive New York Democrats who ousted more moderate incumbents in the 2018 Democratic primary.

At least a half dozen other state lawmakers in New York have tested positive for the coronavirus since this spring, including two New York City Assemblymembers.

Salazar has posted numerous photos on social media in recent weeks that show her at rallies and handing out masks, hand sanitizer and food to New Yorkers amid the pandemic.

The percentage of New Yorkers who have tested positive for COVID-19 each day has hovered around 1-2 percent in the past week, despite concern about protests over the last month fueling a potential surge.

New York City entered Phase Three of its reopening on Monday, but without indoor dining amid concerns tied to skyrocketing cases in other parts of the country.