SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, June 22, 2020 (Gephardt Daily) — Abby Huntsman has tested positive for COVID-19 following her father Jon Huntsman’s positive diagnosis nearly two weeks ago and her mother Mary Kaye Huntsman’s diagnosis last week.
Abby Huntsman, former co-host of “The View” and a senior advisor to her father’s 2020 Utah gubernatorial election campaign, shared a video message on Instagram.
“Hey everyone, just a quick update from what we’re calling the COVID house because it very much still is,” she said. “I got a call from the nurse saying I was in fact a false negative, so I’ve been dealing with the virus for the past week-and-a-half to two weeks. I’ve been feeling a lot better the past two days, so I’m hoping I’m on the road to recovery. My Dad is pretty much, he said he’s about 95% back to normal, my mom still no sense of taste or smell which is such a strange thing to get with the virus but I think a lot of people have been dealing with that as well, I’m hoping that she can start to get it back every day. She says she’s starting to smell a little bit today.
“Others in the house dealing with a fever, aches, it’s not so fun. The kids have all been good, no symptoms at all. Liddy, my sister, has type 1 diabetes and she’s been asymptomatic if she’s had it. So I’m hoping she can stay strong and healthy, and we’re doing our best to stay safe with her. But it’s the weirdest virus. I mean everyone in our house has experienced it totally differently.
“The best way I can describe my experience is it feels like a giant snake is permanently wrapped around your body and the snake decides when, where and how it wants to squeeze you, so one hour it could be your head and you have the worst migraine of your life, the next hour you feel totally fine, then the next hour after that it could be your chest and you’re struggling to breathe. Or your legs, where your leg muscles feel like you’re having never-ending charlie horses. It’s very strange.”
She went on to say: “The fatigue is more than any of us have ever felt. Even after having twins I’ve never been tired like I have with this virus. But, we’re going to get through it. I’m hoping by the end of this week we will all be on the road to recovery, and we will be stronger for it. I would say if there’s any lesson we’ve learned, from all of this, and anything I can share with you, is to take it seriously. And to please, please wear a mask. Take care of your hygiene, wash your hands, when you go out in public, you could be surrounded by people like me, that had false negative tests and they think they’re fine, but they’re not, they actually have COVID. Or you could be around folks who are asymptomatic and just don’t know.
“So please do what you can do protect yourself, because by protecting yourself, you’re protecting your parents, your grandparents, people that you love. And this has been a very serious thing, we’ve been lucky to be able to heal at home but not everyone is so lucky.”
On Thursday, Mary Kaye Huntsman, the former first lady of Utah shared the following message on her Instagram page with a photo of her and her husband:
“Back together again after COVID-19 isolated us apart. The good news is that Jon is on the mends. 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 also tweeted: “Bad news — love of my life, Mary Kaye, tested positive for #COVID-19. Good news — I’m now fully recovered and can be her caregiver without worry. Rest of our gang has been tested again. Praying they avoid it! These aren’t easy days, let’s love each other a little more. #covidhouse.”
Former Utah governor, and one time GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman took part in the final GOP gubernatorial primary debate Tuesday, June 16, despite his diagnosis, participating remotely.
Jon Huntsman has also been sharing video messages on Twitter while isolating at home, and said in part on June 16: “I didn’t want to get out of bed this morning even though things are getting a little bit better with each passing day. It’s just pure exhaustion, and I’m trying to get my sea legs together just a little bit, because we’ve got an event tonight on KUTV Channel 2. If I get through this thing without completely embarrassing myself and my family it’ll be a minor miracle. But hey, we signed up for it and we’re about to do it.”
Huntsman tweeted the news of his diagnosis June 10 after sharing the day before he was still awaiting his COVID-19 test results after being given the wrong results by health officials.
He said in a tweet on June 9: “Received a call from @saltlakehealth saying they had given me wrong results. Still awaiting my results from COVID-19 test last Friday. No word on family members either. Very illuminating to see the process firsthand.”
A follow-up tweet a little before 5 p.m. June 9 said: “Quick update on my COVID-19 test; have now been told the sample container with my test was opened and has been discarded by the state. En route now to take another test. Very grateful for our healthcare professionals who have a hugely demanding job. What a learning process.”
A staffer in Huntsman’s office told Gephardt Daily the earlier result he was given may have been from a test he took earlier this year.
Numerous members of his campaign team have also tested positive.
Jon Huntsman said in a previous video message: “Our campaign continues; we’ve never been more motivated or energized, even with the onset of these coronavirus cases, our concern first and foremost is for the safety and health and well-being of those terrific men and women who we work with in the campaign office. We are taking care of them, we are thinking about them and most importantly we are charging forward with great energy and enthusiasm.”
Watch Bill Gephardt’s interview with Huntsman here.
Gephardt Daily will have more on this developing story as information is made available.
