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Justice Kavanaugh tests positive for COVID, Supreme Court says

Judge Brett Kavanaugh's wife and children have tested negative for COVID-19, according to a statement from the Supreme Court.
Alex Brandon

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh has tested positive for COVID-19 in what appears to be a breakthrough infection, the court said in a statement Friday.

"On Thursday evening, Justice Kavanaugh was informed that he had tested positive for Covid-19," the statement said. "He has no symptoms and has been fully vaccinated since January."

His wife and daughters tested negative, it added.

Kavanaguh was due to attend Friday's investiture ceremony for Justice Amy Coney Barrett who joined the court during the pandemic in the last days of the Trump administration. He will now no longer attend the ceremony, the court said.

"Per current testing protocols, all of the justices were tested Monday morning prior to conference, and all tested negative, including Justice Kavanaugh," the statement said.

The news comes just days before the court resumes in-person oral arguments, on Monday.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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Krishnadev Calamur is NPR's deputy Washington editor. In this role, he helps oversee planning of the Washington desk's news coverage. He also edits NPR's Supreme Court coverage. Previously, Calamur was an editor and staff writer at The Atlantic. This is his second stint at NPR, having previously worked on NPR's website from 2008-15. Calamur received an M.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri.
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