Houston Chronicle

Okla. governor tests positive for COVID-19

- By Manny Fernandez and Sarah Mervosh

Gov. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma announced Wednesday that he has tested positive for the coronaviru­s, becoming the first governor in the United States known to have been infected during the pandemic.

Stitt told reporters in a video news conference that he was feeling fine and that he did not know where, when or how he had become infected.

Stitt, a Republican, said that his own infection had not prompted him to second-guess his response to the virus. The governor has resisted issuing a statewide mask order and continued to do so Wednesday.

Oklahoma has averaged more than 640 new cases per day over the past week, the most of any point in the pandemic. The state set a singleday record Tuesday with more than 990 new cases.

Stitt said he did not feel that he had a serious case of the virus.

“It just kind of feels achy, like maybe the start of a little cold is what it feels like right now, but really, I feel fine,” Stitt said. Stitt’s wife and their six children have tested negative.

He said that, given the timing, he did not believe his infection was linked to Trump’s rally in Tulsa, Okla., on June 20.

 ??  ?? Stitt
Stitt

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States