LANSING, MI (MPRN)— More than a dozen people—including a member of President Joe Biden’s cabinet—have tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a political conference on Mackinac Island last week.
Politicians, journalists and lobbyists returned Friday from the annual Mackinac Policy Conference, which is hosted by the Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce. According to an update from the chamber mid-day Monday, at least 15 attendees have since tested positive for COVID. That includes U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, who says he’s experiencing mild symptoms. A spokesman for Governor Gretchen Whitmer, another attendee, says she tested negative Monday morning.
The more than thirteen hundred conference participants were required to be vaccinated or submit proof of a negative PCR test for indoor events. Masks were not required and the chamber says those who’ve tested positive so far are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms.
Data shows vaccines reduce the risk of getting the virus and of contracting severe symptoms.