MASON CITY, IOWA - FEBRUARY 02: Democratic Presidential Candidate Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) (C), flanked by her husband John Bessler and daughter Abigail, poses for a picture with guests during a campaign stop at Music Man Square on February 2, 2020 … (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar's husband has the coronavirus and is hospitalized, Klobuchar said in an online post Monday morning.
Klobuchar said her husband, John Bessler, has pneumonia and is on oxygen but not a ventilator. The third-term U.S. senator said her doctor has advised her not to get a test because she is outside the 14-day period for getting sick and has been in different places from her husband for the past two weeks.
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The illness started off like a cold but Bessler developed a bad cough and started coughing up blood. He was hospitalized because of a variety of factors, including very low oxygen levels, "which haven't really improved," Klobuchar wrote.
"While I cannot see him and he is of course cut off from all visitors, our daughter Abigail and I are constantly calling and texting and emailing," Klobuchar wrote. "We love him very much and pray for his recovery. He is exhausted and sick but a very strong and resilient person."
Klobuchar was in Washington on Sunday, voting with fellow Senate Democrats to block a $1.8 trillion coronavirus bill from coming up for a vote.
Bessler frequently campaigned for Klobuchar during her 13-month-long campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination, which ended earlier this month.
"I hope he will be home soon. I know so many Americans are going through this and so much worse right now. So I hope and pray for you, just as I hope you will do for my husband," Klobuchar wrote.