Garcetti, who has received both doses of the Moderna vaccine, was said to be "feeling good" as he isolates in a hotel room, according to a tweet from the mayor's account.
"It's a real reminder that when you let your guard down, even when you follow everything right...there's still a chance with breakthroughs, which is why the vaccine is so important," Garcetti told Eyewitness News during a Zoom interview. "Without that, you can land in the hospital and you have 11 times more likely chance to die if you're not vaccinated."
The mayor is in Glasgow for the United Nations Climate Change Conference. He was attending the conference with about seven staff members, all of whom tested negative.
Garcetti defends city vaccine mandate: 'I as mayor will never apologize for saving lives'
Garcetti defends city vaccine mandate: 'I as mayor will never apologize for saving lives'
In accordance with the UN's guidelines for the conference, Garcetti conducted self-administered nasal swab tests frequently throughout the trip and tested negative, including receiving negative results twice on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the mayor and his staff took PCR tests to get back into the United States, and Garcetti's positive test result was received on Wednesday.
The mayor's team was figuring out what will happen next as Garcetti isolates in Glasgow. Garcetti had been scheduled to return to the United States on Thursday.
City News Service contributed to this report.