Texas governor has COVID -19
Abbott has fought against public health mandates
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, R, has tested positive for the coronavirus, his office said Tuesday.
Abbott is among the Republican governors who have resisted public-health mandates aimed at stemming the tide of the virus’ delta variant, which has caused a spike in cases.
A spokesman for Abbott said the governor is “fully vaccinated against COVID-19, in good health, and currently experiencing no symptoms.” Texas first lady Cecilia Abbott has tested negative, and everyone with whom the governor was in close contact Tuesday has been notified, siad the spokesman, Mark Miner.
But videos and photos posted online by Abbott’s gubernatorial campaign show him delivering remarks and mingling Monday night with a large, maskless crowd of more than 100 people indoors at an event in Texas.
Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it had contacted those who were present at the event.
“The governor has been testing daily, and today was the first positive test result,” Miner said Tuesday. “... The governor will isolate in the Governor’s Mansion and continue to test daily.”
Abbott also is receiving Regeneron’s monoclonal antibody treatment, Miner said. The treatment, which was given to then-president Donald Trump when he had the coronavirus last year, is designed to prevent infected people from developing severe illness.
Abbott’s escalating efforts to stop mask mandates have ended up in the Texas courts.
The governor has asked hospitals to halt nonemergency medical procedures as thousands of COVID -19 patients strain wards already struggling with a shortage of nurses, but he has kept his order banning local mask and vaccine mandates.
Texas and Florida account for 40% of new hospitalizations nationwide, the White House said last week. As of Tuesday, the seven-day average of new cases in Texas was 15,554, and the seven-day average of new deaths was 92.