Allan Fung, who was due to swear in Ken Hopkins as his successor in the mayor’s office during Monday night’s largely virtual inaugural activities, tested positive for COVID-19 shortly before the ceremony.

“2021 is no less full of surprises it seems,” the mayor tweeted shortly after 7 p.m. Monday. “My last act as Mayor actually ended up being a precautionary COVID test before tonight’s ceremony & while I’m asymptomatic, I tested positive. This is what I get for trying to take a few days off after 12 years!”

Michael Traficante, the current citywide member of the School Committee and a former mayor, took Fung’s place and administered the oath of office to Hopkins.

Fung said he has entered quarantine, as has his wife, state Rep.-elect Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung.

In a statement Tuesday morning, Fenton-Fung – who tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this year – wrote that due to her husband’s positive test, she would not attend Tuesday’s General Assembly inauguration.

“Last night, we learned that my husband was positive for COVID-19. While I was previously ill with the disease and have already gotten one dose of the Moderna vaccine, I did test out of an abundance of caution following my husband's results, and indeed was negative,” she said.

She added: “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. As such, I informed Speaker-Elect Shekarchi that I would err on the side of extreme caution and not attend today’s inauguration. He was very supportive, and a separate swearing in will take place at a time and date to be determined.”

The scene at Monday night in City Hall’s Council Chambers was surreal by inaugural standards. The camera crews were at the ready and a large screen for those participating remotely faced a nearly empty chambers. In the entry, the color guard lingered waiting for the ceremony to start and the command to post the colors.

But there was no sign of the key participants other than Dennis DeJesus, who served as master of ceremonies. He was checking the time.

Fenton-Fung was on the move. Leaving the mayor’s office, pausing before entering the chambers she said, “Allan tested positive.” She was negative.

They had learned of the results minutes before Fung was scheduled to administer the oath of office to Hopkins. It wouldn’t be possible to get photographs of the outgoing and incoming mayors together as some media hoped.

Back in Council Chambers, DeJesus was anxious to start the proceedings on time.

“Where’s Ken, has he changed his mind?”

There were a few muffled laughs.

Hopkins, wearing his signature red mask, emerged from the back of the room. Traficante took a seat beside the podium. DeJesus explained the situation to the sparse audience.

“Thankfully,” he explained, Traficante was present and would do the honors of administering the oath. The show was ready to begin and with the exception of the American flag falling over twice and a few technical Zoom glitches, it went off as planned.

John Howell contributed to this report.