Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves announced Monday that he is awaiting the results of a coronavirus test after “numerous” members of the state House of Representatives tested positive for COVID-19 over the holiday weekend.
Reeves, a Republican, announced on Twitter that he was taking the precautionary measure after contacting one of the House members who tested positive, although the governor said he had only met “briefly” with the state legislator.
“I am waiting for the results of a COVID-19 test,” Reeves tweeted. “It appears that numerous members of the Mississippi House were confirmed to have contracted the virus last week, only one of whom was briefly in contact.”
Reeves did not name the House member he was in contact with, nor did he refer to members of the state legislature who had confirmed cases, but House Speaker Philip Gunn said Sunday that he had tested positive for coronavirus the same day as state health Authorities reported more than 200 new infections and five pandemic-related deaths.
Gunn, a Republican from the Jackson suburb of Clinton, said in a video posted on Facebook that he was tested because he had been very close to another House member who tested positive.
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Gunn said he called everyone he had been very close to recently to inform them of his diagnosis and that he planned to quarantine. He also asked state residents to do the same if they discover they are infected: “We have to make sure we do everything we can to make this happen to us as quickly as possible.”
Gunn is the state’s highest-ranking political figure to publicly reveal a positive test for the coronavirus. He did not identify the other member of the House.
The legislature is out of session now, but it has met several days a week for the past month. While some legislators or others on Capitol Hill wore masks, many others did not while sitting near the floor of the House and Senate and in committee rooms.
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The Mississippi Health Department released its latest coronavirus statistics on Sunday. The state recorded 226 new cases as of Saturday, bringing the total number of confirmed and probable infections to 30,900 statewide. Five more people also died from COVID-19. The deaths occurred in Harrison, Hinds, Lawrence, Lowndes, and Walthall counties.
Another legislator has reported that he also tested positive for the virus. Democratic Rep. Bo Brown, of Jackson, told the Clarion Ledger on Thursday that he had received a positive COVID-19 result. Brown, 70, told the Ledger that he ran a test about a week earlier because he felt a little shaky and weak.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
