Rep. Putnam tests positive for COVID-19

By: Arren Kimbel-Sannit - February 8, 2021 10:57 am

Brian Putnam, R-Kalispell (Courtesy of Montana Legislative Services)

Rep. Brian Putnam has tested positive for COVID-19, the Legislature announced this weekend.

Putnam, R-Kalispell, began feeling symptoms of the virus on Thursday, got tested the next day and received his diagnosis on Sunday morning, said a statement from the House and Senate GOP.

He attended virtually last Friday, and will continue to participate in the legislative session remotely.

Putnam is the third lawmaker to announce a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. The Department of Administration told the Helena Independent Record in January that it had tested 10 people associated with the Legislature, with two additional positive cases who were not lawmakers.

“Putnam’s closest contacts have been notified and contact tracing is ongoing,” a legislative spokesman said.

Rep. David Bedey, R-Hamilton, was the first legislator to test positive. He was followed by Rep. Fiona Nave, R-Columbus.

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Arren Kimbel-Sannit

Arren Kimbel-Sannit is an Arizona-bred journalist who has covered politics, policy and power building at every level of government. Before getting his dose of northern exposure, Arren worked as a reporter in all manner of Arizona newsrooms, for the Dallas Morning News and for POLITICO in Washington, D.C. He has a special interest in how land-use decisions affect working-class people, which he displayed through reporting on the epidemic of pedestrian deaths in the U.S. for the Los Angeles Times and PBS Newshour. He's also covered housing, agriculture, the Trump presidency and more.