Updated at 5:42 p.m. with new information throughout.
WASHINGTON — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott tested positive for COVID-19 Tuesday, but he’s far from the first governor to do so, as at least 10 others have tested positive for the coronavirus since the beginning of the pandemic in March of 2020.
States whose executive leaders are known to have received a coronavirus diagnosis are: Virginia, Missouri, Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada, Oklahoma, Alaska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Montana.
Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma tested positive for COVID-19 on July 15, 2020, just five months into the pandemic. He was the first governor in the country to test positive.
At least eight of the governors tested positive in 2020. In 2021, governors Mike Dunleavy of Alaska and Greg Gianforte of Montana both tested positive. Abbott is the latest governor to report contracting the virus.
All 50 governors, including Abbott, have been vaccinated against COVID-19, according to a survey Business Insider conducted among the officials.
Abbott received his COVID-19 vaccine in December 2020 live on TV: “It’s that easy,” he said afterward, looking into the camera.
Two sources told NBC News that Abbott has said he’s received a third booster dose of the vaccine. The Food and Drug Administration has only authorized booster shots for people with compromised immune systems, though the Biden administration is expected to announce a plan to administer them to most Americans soon.
While Abbott has reported feeling no symptoms since testing positive, others haven’t been so lucky: Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia said he still has no sense of smell a year after he tested positive in Sept. 2020. Most of the other officials reported having mild or no symptoms.
And the virus has struck regardless of political affiliation: Of the governors who contracted COVID-19, four are Democrats and seven are Republicans, including Abbott.
Of his fellow governors, Abbott has been perhaps the most vocal about his opposition to mandates, swiftly attempting to curtail local health officials who have tried to implement mask and vaccine requirements across the state.
Here’s the full list of governors who have tested positive for COVID-19:
- Gov. Ralph Northam of Virginia
- Gov. Mike Parson of Missouri
- Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado
- Gov. Mark Gordon of Wyoming
- Gov. Steve Sisolak of Nevada
- Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma
- Gov. Mike Dunleavy of Alaska
- Gov. Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania
- Gov. Henry McMaster of South Carolina
- Gov. Greg Gianforte of Montana
