COVID-19

DC Mayor Muriel Bowser Announces COVID Diagnosis

"Just a reminder — the best way to know if it’s COVID or your seasonal allergies is to get tested," the mayor said in a tweet

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What to Know

  • D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she tested positive for COVID-19 after having allergy symptoms.
  • If you're not sure if you have allergies or COVID, get tested, she advised.
  • D.C.’s coronavirus website lists the “current COVID-19 community level” in the District as low.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser tested positive for COVID-19, she announced Thursday morning. 

She said she had “allergy symptoms” and will work from home while isolating. 

Bowser urged residents to get tested, vaccinated and boosted. 

"Just a reminder — the best way to know if it’s COVID or your seasonal allergies is to get tested," the mayor said in a tweet.

D.C.’s coronavirus website lists the “current COVID-19 community level” in the District as low. The site lists the weekly case rate and number of hospital admissions as low as of March 27, the latest date for which data is listed. 

The mayor lost her only sister and oldest sibling to COVID-19 in February 2021. Mercia Bowser was 64. 

Former Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam tested positive for COVID in September 2020, his office announced. Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan tested positive in December 2021, he announced. It wasn’t immediately clear if current Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has had the coronavirus. 

Allergy season is here, so we asked Dr. Richard Wasserman, medical director for Pediatric Allergy and Immunology at Medical City Children’s Hospital in Texas, to answer our top 10 questions about allergies.

Stay with NBC Washington for more details on this developing story. 

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