Fresno Mayor-Elect Jerry Dyer COVID-19 Positive After Attending Election Night Party
FRESNO (CBS / AP) — Fresno's mayor-elect, Jerry Dyer, has tested positive for COVID-19 after attending an election night dinner with a few officials, including a Fresno County supervisor whose diagnosis late last week prompted the Board of Supervisors to close its offices and postpone its meeting by a week.
The former police chief told the Fresno Bee he went into quarantine after receiving the test result Tuesday. Dyer said he took the test after experiencing a light cough and that his symptoms developed with a headache, body aches, chills and a mild fever.
"I would equate my symptoms, at least at this point, to a severe cold or mild flu," he said. "I consider myself very fortunate as I know others experience severe sickness and unfortunately, death."
Dyer attended the dinner on Nov. 3 with Fresno Mayor Lee Brand, City Councilman Mike Karbassi, county Supervisor Steve Brandau. and several others at the home of a Kaiser Permanente government affairs manager Serop Torossian.
Recalling that night, Dyer told Fresno CBS affiliate KGPE-TV he let his guard down.
"I debated, quite honestly, whether to go or not when I got invited. But, I thought, eh, it's a few friends gonna get together for dinner. I think that's the message [to take away] – even a few friends getting together for dinner can ultimately cause somebody to get the virus," Dyer said.
The hospital chain told KFSN-TV the gathering was a private party and was not associated with Kaiser Permanente.
Brandau told the Bee he began to feel symptoms on Election Day and confirmed he had the coronavirus on Friday. His diagnosis led the county to close the offices of the county Board of Supervisors while health officials trace everyone who came in contact with him.
The board, which has been meeting in person throughout the pandemic, also postponed its Nov. 17 meeting by a week.
Karbassi said he should have been more careful at the dinner on election night and warned the community not to let its guard down.
"Don't get comfortable," he said. "Even if it's your first time going out to someone's house, you can get exposed. That's what happened to me. Keep distance. It's (the pandemic) not over, by any means, and it's probably getting worse."
© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.