Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley says he's got COVID-19 and is quarantining.
Whitley made the announcement during a scheduled meeting of the Tarrant County Commissioners Court on Tuesday morning, appearing virtually.
The county judge said his symptoms have been mild and that he's not had a fever, which he attributed to having received both the COVID-19 vaccine and booster.
Whitley also said he was taking the antiviral paxlovid, which when administered within five days of symptoms appearing has been proven to bring about a 90% reduction in hospitalizations and deaths among patients most likely to get the severe disease.
Get top local stories in DFW delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC DFW's News Headlines newsletter.
Prior to confirming his infection, Whitley said he believed he had a sinus infection and went to the doctor as a precaution where they did a COVID test. He said he's worked with Tarrant County Public Health Director Vinny Taneja's team on contact tracing.
"I'm feeling OK. Thankfully my symptoms are mild," Whitley told the commissioners court. "I've had a little bit of cough, which seems to get worse the more I talk so I'm sure to everyone's delight I'm going to try to keep my comments brief."
Whitley said he expected to return to the court in person next week.
