The Surprise mayor says he has tested positive for COVID-19.
Surprise Mayor Skip Hall phoned into Tuesday’s City Council meeting and started with an announcement: He tested positive for COVID-19.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t be there tonight, but I tested positive for COVID-19 today. So I’m going to be out of pocket for the next 10 days,” he said.
Hall told The Arizona Republic that one other City Council member has tested positive for the virus, but would not say who. Councilwoman Nancy Hayden was not at Tuesday’s meeting and she did not call in. Councilman David Sanders attended virtually. Neither responded to requests for comment.
The Arizona Department of Health Services as of June 16 has reported 437 positive COVID-19 cases in six ZIP codes in the Surprise area.
Hall, 74, attended the meeting virtually. Surprise was one of the few metro Phoenix cities in which council and staff members continued to meet completely inperson during the coronavirus pandemic. The council chambers were closed to the public until June 1, although the meetings are livestreamed.
Councilman Roland Winters wore a face mask as he sat at the dais on Tuesday.
Hall was appointed to the mayor’s seat in 2018 and is running unopposed for election to the post in August. He has served on the council since 2008 and has lived in Surprise since 2003.
Handshakes feel like a thing of the past, Hall said. He’s not sure how he contracted the new coronavirus, as he’s been distancing and refraining from handshakes, but started feeling ill on Thursday.
It was like a bad head cold with night sweats, he said. He hasn’t had any trouble breathing and hasn’t had a bad cough.
“I’m not feeling 100%, but it could be worse,” he said.