Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told reporters on Thursday that his 9-year-old daughter tested positive for COVID-19.
During a press briefing, Garcetti said that both he and his wife had tested negative. He also said he did not have plans to end his tenure as major earlier to join President-elect Joe Biden’s administration. The mayor didn’t say what positions had been in consideration, only that “there were things on the table” for him. Speculation surrounded Garcetti as a potential pick for transportation secretary, a role that in the end went to former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
Garcetti was co-chairman for Biden’s presidential campaign and helped vet candidates for Biden’s vice president.
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, a Cabinet position for Garcetti could draw more intense scrutiny toward allegations of sexual harassment made against the mayor by a former bodyguard. A judge on Thursday ordered Garcetti to be deposed for the case.
The news of Garcetti’s daughter comes just weeks after the mayor issued a new stay-at-home order for Los Angeles. Los Angeles County reported more than 14,000 COVID-19 cases on Thursday, and the city’s seven-day rolling average test positivity rate has surged to a record 13.7%, according to the county’s public health department. Deaths and hospitalizations in the county are also at record highs.
The order replaced a June “safer at home order” and requires that “all persons living within the City of Los Angeles … remain in their homes.” The order also requires businesses whose employees cannot work remotely to close and prohibit “all public and private gatherings of any number of people from more than one household” except for outdoor religious services and protests.
There are exceptions to those prohibitions for essential businesses, and restaurants are allowed to remain open for curbside pickup.
The United States has reported more than 17.1 million cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. By far the hardest-hit country, with more cases and deaths than the next two worst-hit countries, India and Brazil, combined, the U.S. has averaged more than 200,000 positive cases in nine of the last 10 days.
