A south Alabama mayor who said he didn’t pay much attention to the new coronavirus has been diagnosed with COVID-19 along with his wife.
Greenville Mayor Dexter McLendon told WSFA-TV that he and his wife Janice both tested positive for the illness, although neither has been hospitalized. Both are quarantined at home waiting for their temperatures to go down, followed by additional testing.
“We’re doing what we need to do,” he said Wednesday.
McClendon said he was among the people who didn’t take the threat of the virus too seriously and, through work, got around someone who had been infected.
“I let my guard down one day and … I ended up getting the virus,” he said.
Both he and his wife believed they had sinus infections until their tests came back positive on Tuesday night.
“We’ve been sick for over a week, but not anything real bad until a few days ago,” said the five-term mayor.
Greenville is located about 45 miles south of Montgomery and has around 7,500 residents. While some are advocating for a wider reopening of the economy, which was largely shut down to guard against spreading the virus, McClendon said but he is for moving slower after his illness.
“We don’t need to open up all the way,” he said.
Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
