L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva tests positive for coronavirus

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has tested positive for the coronavirus, a spokesperson for his department confirmed Tuesday.

Villanueva was in good spirits, Capt. Lorena Rodriguez, a Sheriff's Department spokesperson, told The Times.

She did not confirm whether the sheriff, who has been vaccinated, was boosted or say how he contracted the virus.

In February, the L.A. County Board of Supervisors moved to take COVID-19 vaccine mandate enforcement responsibilities away from Villanueva, who repeatedly said he would not fire deputies who refuse to get vaccinated.

The sheriff, who is seeking reelection, repeatedly criticized the mandate and claimed enforcing it would lead to a "mass exodus" from the force.

In lieu of the mandate, Villanueva required unvaccinated employees to get weekly coronavirus tests and threatened to discipline employees for insubordination if they refused to share their vaccination status.

After a tight primary race, the sheriff is headed to a November runoff against retired Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna, who trailed Villanueva by about 5 percentage points.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.