ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A Maryland man who has helped organize“reopen” protests against measures intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus says he has the virus.
Tim Walters is a co-founder of the ReOpen Maryland movement. The Capital Gazette and Washington Post report that he announced on social media that he has tested positive.
In a Facebook video, he said he was diagnosed at a hospital emergency room. The newspapers report that he said, “Here I am months after not wearing a mask at rallies, churches and so on and so it’s funny how capricious this thing is.”
Walters declined interview requests from the papers. He said he would not provide any information to public health officials trying to trace the spread of the disease. Walters emphasized he had contacted people he’d recently interacted with.
Republican Gov. Larry Hogan posted a link to the Annapolis paper’s story to his own Facebook page Friday. He noted that health experts “are strongly encouraging anyone who attended a demonstration or mass gathering to immediately get tested for coronavirus."