DENVER | Colorado Gov. Jared Polis’ longtime partner, first gentleman Marlon Reis, has been hospitalized as a precaution after experiencing shortness of breath and a worsening cough eight days after being diagnosed with the coronavirus.
Polis’ office said in a statement late Sunday that the governor, who also was diagnosed with COVID-19, drove Reis to a hospital “for review and treatment.” Polis was not experiencing severe symptoms, his office said.
Reis “has normal oxygen saturation, is in good spirits, and looks forward to returning home soon,” said a statement released by the governor’s office Monday evening. The first gentlemen has not required supplemental oxygen.
Polis and Reis tested positive Nov. 28 and both had been quarantining at home.
Polis, a Democrat, had described his symptoms as “very mild” Dec. 1 as he worked last week from home. He had previously said Reis was asymptomatic.
“I’m certainly not out of the woods, nor is Marlon. As we know, this can certainly take a different turn after several days, but so far I feel very good,” the governor said during a news conference on the virus he held with the nation’s top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and a member of the White House’s coronavirus task force.
Polis repeatedly has urged people to wear masks and socially distance to help prevent stay-at-home orders and overwhelmed hospitals as cases of the coronavirus surge during the holidays.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some — especially older adults and people with existing health problems — it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death.