Colorado governor Jared Polis’s husband, 39, is hospitalized with worsening coronavirus symptoms including ‘a cough and shortness of breath’ on his eighth day of illness
- Governor Jared Polis and husband tested positive for Covid-19 on November 28
- First Gentleman Marlon Reis, 39, was taken to hospital yesterday for treatment
- Hospitalized after he experienced ‘a worsening cough and shortness of breath’
The governor of Colorado ‘s husband has been taken to hospital as his coronavirus symptoms worsen, eight days after testing postive.
Jared Polis’s husband Marlon Reis was hospitalized yesterday after he experienced ‘a worsening cough and shortness of breath’.
On his Facebook page, the First Gentleman, 39, told his followers Polis, 45, had driven him to the hospital where he was admitted shortly after and is being ‘closely monitored’.
The governor began quarantining on November 25 after he was exposed to someone who had tested positive.
Both he and Reis then tested positive for Covid-19 on November 28 but were reported to be ‘asymptomatic’ and ‘feeling well’, the Denver Post reports.
Colorado governor Jared Polis’s (left) husband Marlon Reis (right) was taken to hospital yesterday after his coronavirus symptoms worsened
The news that the First Gentleman had been hospitalized was shared on his Facebook page
Off the back of his hospitalization, Reis took the opportunity to encourage people to take the necessary precautions to avoid spreading the virus.
The post read: ‘In addition to your kind thoughts and prayers for me and everyone else afflicted by this horrible virus, please be extra careful to avoid getting it.
‘Wearing a mask properly reduces your risk by half. Also, make sure to avoid social gatherings (right now one in forty Coloradans is contagious with coronavirus) and keep a distance from others. I hope to be home soon.’
Announcing the latest update in Reis’ condition, the government office confirmed Polis is ‘not experiencing any additional symptoms at this time’.
Confirming their positive test result, the couple’s public announcement read: ‘No person or family is immune to this virus. I urge every Coloradan to practice caution, limit public interactions, wear a mask in public, stay six feet from others, and wash your hands regularly.’
Later Polis posted on Reis’s page: ‘Marlon wanted me to convey how much he appreciates the hundreds of people who have reached out to wish him well on email, Facebook, and text.
The couple, pictured with their nine-week-old son CJ in 2011, revealed they had tested positive for the virus on November 28
They had been quarantining before their test results after the governor had been in contact with someone with the virus
‘Reading the kind words and thoughts brings great joy to him as he recuperates. He also wanted me to share that he hopes to be well enough to reply in a few days but for now he wants me to thank everyone and let everyone know that he feels the love. -Jared’
The pair’s positive test came days after the Mayor of Denver was criticized for flying to Houston and then to Mississippi to see his wife and daughter over Thanksgiving when he had told Coloradans to stay at home.
Polis is said to have not seen his parents for nine months and canceled his plans for Thanksgiving to ‘set the example’, Fox News reports.
The governor’s husband used the opportunity to encourage people to take precautions to stop the spread of the virus
The Colorado governor drove his husband to the hospital and is said to not be showing any additional symptoms
The Colorado governor made history as the first openly gay person elected to the position of governor in the United States.
The first gay person to serve as a state governor was Jim McGreevey, the 52nd governor of New Jersey, who came out in 2004 after being elected.
Polis and Reis have a son, born in 2011, and a daughter, born in 2014 together – making him the first gay parent in Congress.
He is also the first Jewish person to be elected the governor of Colorado.