Allegheny County Executive Fitzgerald back at work after covid isolation

Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald is back in the office five days after testing positive for covid-19.

Fitzgerald, who is vaccinated and boosted, had no symptoms, said county spokeswoman Amie Downs. He was tested last week after he’d been in close contact with someone who had the virus, and he announced Friday he’d tested positive.

Fitzgerald has been part of the Moderna vaccine trial through the University of Pittsburgh, and he said last week that he will receive additional testing as part of that trial. He said that, per recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, he will wear a mask when around other people for the next five days.

The county executive tested positive for the virus the same day as Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, who has been working from home since his test.

Maria Montano, a spokeswoman for the mayor’s office, said Gainey took a PCR test on Tuesday and was still awaiting those results Wednesday morning. He will return to the office Thursday if the results come back negative, she said.