Mary Kaye Huntsman, former Utah first lady, disclosed that she has tested positive for COVID-19 on her Instagram account Thursday, just one week after her husband, former Gov. Jon Huntsman, received his positive test.
“The good news is that Jon is on the mends,” Mary Kaye said in her post. “The bad news is this is a very very contagious virus. I have now tested positive. So worried now about the rest of our household.”
Jon Huntsman, who is running for the governor’s seat once again, entered quarantine last week after a staffer working on his campaign tested positive for COVID-19. He said he initially received a false negative test on June 8, but the Salt Lake County Health Department told him it had given him wrong information and he tested positive on June 10.
“After waiting for 5 days, and getting false result ... we are now paying the price,” Liddy Huntsman, the couple’s daughter said in a Tweet. “I am numb. Thinking of every other house going through this!”
Jon roamed the Huntsman home for five days after he was told that he had tested negative, according to Abby Huntsman, another daughter.
“We are definitely living the nightmare firsthand,” Abby told The Salt Lake Tribune. “Then to find his test was contaminated and thrown out. That lapse in time was so dangerous.”
Abby said that she has been tested for a third time, and that this time the family did not go through the state’s testing programs. The family pursued testing through the University of Utah, and will know the results of the tests tomorrow.
“I worry we all may be next,” Abby said.
Editor’s note • Mary Kaye Huntsman is a sister-in-law of Paul Huntsman, chairman of The Salt Lake Tribune’s nonprofit board of directors.
