North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis says he made a mistake by taking off his face mask indoors last month at a White House event. Many attendees — including Tillis and President Donald Trump — later tested positive for COVID-19.

The senator, who has been a strong supporter of wearing masks in public, was wearing one outside at the White House Rose Garden on Sept. 26, when Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. But photos showed him without one at an indoor reception later.

“I have to admit that I let my guard down because we’d all been tested about two hours before the event,” Tillis told WRAL-TV in an interview Tuesday. “It’s just another experience that tells me, even when you think you’re in a safe setting, you should always wear a mask.”

Tillis, who is running for reelection next month against Democrat Cal Cunningham, announced his positive test last Friday and has been quarantined at his North Carolina home. He had already apologized in late August when he took off his mask while in a crowd of people attending Trump’s GOP nomination speech outside the White House.

Many people who attended Barrett’s nomination in the Rose Garden tested positive. Tillis said the president called him on Monday after Trump was released from the hospital, where he received three days of treatment. He said the two discussed their infections and Barrett’s confirmation.

During virtual phone meetings this week with constituents about the coronavirus, Tillis said that he had experienced mild symptoms that had since disappeared. He said he hoped to return to Washington next week.

Tillis said he doesn’t believe he contracted the virus at the event because his symptoms didn’t surface until seven days later.

“That doesn’t excuse the fact that, in every case, we should wear a mask because scientists tell us to do it,” he told WRAL on Tuesday.

The Centers for Disease Control notes that the incubation period for COVID-19 is thought to extend to 14 days, with a median time of four to five days from exposure to symptoms onset.

All of Tillis’ campaign staffers in close proximity to him last week have tested negative for the virus so far, his campaign said on Tuesday. His Charlotte campaign headquarters is closed through the end of the week as a precaution.

Photo via AP Photo/Gerry Broome.

Related Stories
‹
Spokesman Says Tillis Is Improving After COVID Diagnosis
A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina says that the senator is improving after experiencing mild symptoms following a positive COVID-19 test. Tillis spokesman Adam Webb issued a statement Sunday night saying that the senator is continuing to self-isolate at home but that he’s feeling better after experiencing mild symptoms the previous […]
NC Senator Tillis Apologizes for Failing to Keep Mask on at White House
North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said on Friday he “fell short of my own standard” by failing to keep his face mask on in the White House crowd while listening to President Donald Trump accept the Republican nomination. Tillis, who is in a tough reelection bid against Democrat Cal Cunningham, has been consistently talking up […]
Biden Ends COVID National Emergency After Congress Acts
Written by ZEKE MILLER The U.S. national emergency to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic ended Monday as President Joe Biden signed a bipartisan congressional resolution to bring it to a close after three years — weeks before it was set to expire alongside a separate public health emergency. The national emergency allowed the government to take sweeping […]
White House Tries To Make Biden’s COVID a ‘Teachable Moment’
Written by WILL WEISSERT and CHRIS MEGERIAN For more than a year, President Joe Biden’s ability to avoid the coronavirus seemed to defy the odds. When he finally did test positive, the White House was ready. It set out to turn the diagnosis into a “teachable moment” and dispel any notion of a crisis. “The president does what every other […]
Falling Short: Why the White House Will Miss Its Vax Target
Written by ZEKE MILLER Standing in the State Dining Room on May 4, President Joe Biden laid out a lofty goal to vaccinate 70% of American adults by Independence Day, saying the U.S. would need to overcome “doubters” and laziness to do it. “This is your choice,” he told Americans. “It’s life and death.” As for […]
Cooper, North Carolina Prison Officials Agree To Release 3,500 Inmates
North Carolina civil rights groups struck a deal on Thursday with Gov. Roy Cooper’s administration to allow for the early release of 3,500 inmates in state custody over the next six months. If the state abides by its commitment to trim about one-eighth of its more than 28,000-person prison population, the North Carolina branch of […]
North Carolina's COVID-19 Restrictions Ease on Friday: Here's What You Need to Know
Governor Roy Cooper announced Executive Order 195 — which eases some pandemic restrictions and lifts North Carolina’s modified stay at home order — earlier this week. “Given the significant and sustained improvement in our COVID-19 metrics,” said Cooper, “today I am announcing that we will ease but not lift restrictions in several areas with a new […]
Justice Department Won't Charge Sen. Burr Over Stock Sales
Sen. Richard Burr said Tuesday that the Justice Department has told him it will not prosecute him over stock sales made during the coronavirus pandemic, ending an insider trading investigation that led him to at least temporarily step aside from a powerful committee chairmanship last year. Prosecutors had investigated for months whether the North Carolina […]
NC Mulls Incentives for Prison Inmates Who Get Vaccinated
North Carolina prison officials are considering offering rewards to inmates who accept a coronavirus vaccine that will soon become available to them. Todd Ishee, commissioner of prisons, said at a Thursday news conference that the Department of Public Safety is considering offering prisoners a greater number of guest visitations and other perks if they choose […]
Winter Travel Raises More Fears of Viral Spread
Tens of millions of people are expected to travel to family gatherings or winter vacations over Christmas, despite pleas by public health experts who fear the result could be another surge in COVID-19 cases. In the U.S., AAA predicts that about 85 million people will travel between Dec. 23 and Jan. 3, most of them […]
›