State legislator reports testing positive for coronavirus
A member of the Arizona House of Representatives said Monday she tested positive for the coronavirus.
Rep. Joanne Osborne, R-Goodyear, is the second state legislator and among more than 100,000 Arizonans known to have contracted the disease.
Osborne, the owner of a jewelry store, said she decided to close the shop about two weeks ago.
"The coronavirus was attacking my staff,” she wrote on Facebook in announcing the news. “With an abundance of caution and concern, this was the right thing to do for our employees and customers. Unfortunately, it seems I am the last of my team to catch the chaotic COVID-19.”
Osborne said she would be fine but urged Arizonans to take precautions that public health officials have said will prevent the further spread of the coronavirus.
“As a state leader, business owner, mother and grandmother, I am not mandating you wear a mask, but I’m asking you as a friend to please help do your part,” she wrote. “Wear a mask, wash your hands, stay home when sick and let’s kick COVID out of here.”
Osborne did not immediately respond to a voicemail message seeking more information. The Legislature is currently out of session.
In California, the Associated Press reported that the state Assembly would indefinitely postpone the resumption of its session after a member tested positive for the coronavirus.
At least one Arizona legislator already has tested positive for COVID-19.
Sen. Lupe Contreras, D-Avondale, fell ill along with several members of his family in April and tested positive for the coronavirus. He recovered and later attended proceedings at the state Capitol in May but continued to urge that colleagues as well as other Arizonans take the virus seriously.
State health officials said Monday that 101,441 people across Arizona had tested positive for the coronavirus since the first case was detected here in January, and 1,810 people are known to have died.
The number of COVID-19 patients across the state in ICU beds and on ventilators reached the highest level yet on Sunday.