Sheriff Bianco Tests Positive for COVID-19

Sheriff Bianco announces positive test on Facebook

For the second time this month a high-profile political figure has tested positive for COVID-19. First, it was Rep. Raul Ruiz, M.D. Now, it’s Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.

Sheriff Bianco broke the news Wednesday afternoon by way of what he called a “COVID update.”

“Well, the virus made its way through the entire Bianco family: all the kids, (grand babies tested negative) Denise, and yours truly,” Bianco posted on Facebook. “Everyone recovered after light symptoms. I held off the longest and wouldn’t have known other than I lost my sense of smell/taste.”

Bianco said he is “working from home while abiding by the recommended quarantine.”

Like it or not, Sheriff has gained national attention of his unbridled rhetoric when it comes specifically to COVID-19. His message has been unmistakably clear: The virus is real and people should be responsible, he has said, but COVID-19 is not a lethal threat to the healthy. He also doesn’t hold his deputies to crack down on the maskless or business owners. He also doesn’t plan to get vaccinated against the virus.

In a Dec. 4 YouTube video that gained national attention, Bianco — while asking the public to mask up and socially distance — accused Gov. Gavin Newsom of trying to strongarm counties into enforcing his stay-at-home order, which went into effect in Southern California on Dec. 6.

“Leaders do not threaten, attempt to intimidate, or cause fear,” Bianco said on the video. “Bullies do.”

Bianco posted the video the same day that the California Department of Public Health reported that California has 1,286,557 confirmed COVID-19 cases to date.

There were 16,728 newly recorded confirmed cases Tuesday.

Sheriff Bianco called the new restrictions and orders “flat-out ridiculous” and the metrics used to determine restrictions “unbelievably faulty.” He added that it is not representative of the actual numbers for Riverside County.