Outgoing Cranston Mayor Tests Positive For Coronavirus

CRANSTON, RI — Outgoing Cranston Mayor Allan Fung was unable to attend Monday's inauguration after he tested positive for coronavirus. As a result, his wife, a newly minted state representative, will not attend Tuesday's State House inauguration.

Fung is asymptomatic, he said in a tweet. His case was identified in a precautionary test taken before the inauguration of incoming Mayor Ken Hopkins. The full inauguration can be watched in the video below.

Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung, who defeated House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello in an election upset, said she will not attend Tuesday's State House inauguration out of an abundance of caution.

"Last night, we learned that my husband was positive for COVID-19," Fenton-Fung said Tuesday morning. "Throughout the night, we consulted with my own doctors and the Department of Health, and at the end of the day just used common sense. Many of my future colleagues aren't 20 years old anymore and have health vulnerabilities. I would not want to do anything to put their health in danger or make them feel uncomfortable."

Fenton-Fung is an employee of Rhode Island Hospital who previously had coronavirus and received the first dose of the Moderna vaccine.

"I informed Speaker-Elect Shekarchi that I would err on the side of extreme caution and not attend today's inauguration," she continued. "He was very supportive, and a separate swearing in will take place at a time and date to be determined."