Waukesha County Exec Has COVID-19

Waukesha County Executive Paul Farrow announced Friday he has tested positive for the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 and was remaining isolated to avoid passing the illness on.

In a statement, Farrow said a member of his household developed COVID-19 symptoms in the last week and tested positive. After the individual reported feeling ill, “I self-quarantined and began working from home to avoid the possibility of spreading the virus in the community,” Farrow stated. He subsequently developed “mild symptoms” and on Friday received a report of a positive test.

The county executive said he would isolate until he has experienced “a full recovery.”

“I have followed the recommendations of the CDC and utilized Waukesha County’s Public Health infrastructure to stop the spread of COVID-19 outside of my household,” Farrow stated. “The simple tools of self-quarantining, testing, and contact tracing are extremely effective, and I encourage all residents to use them if they begin feeling sick in order to protect our most vulnerable friends and family members from this virus.”

Farrow also called on county residents to follow the county’s COVID-19 safety guidelines, including “staying home when sick, social distancing, wearing a mask, and following CDC best practices.”

In July, Farrow criticized the first statewide mask mandate ordered by Gov. Tony Evers, although he said he supported masks as a preventive measure during the pandemic.

“While Waukesha County supports and actively promotes masks and face coverings as a tool to stop the spread of the virus, a government mandate will create many more issues that will not only make it more difficult to respond to the pandemic,” Farrow stated at the time, “the unenforceability of the order undermines existing laws, and overreach from the state erodes public trust in the government.”

On Friday, Wisconsin set another record with 3,861 new positive tests for the coronavirus.

Reprinted with permission of Wisconsin Examiner.