Rep. Reginald Murdock, D-Marianna, has tested positive for covid-19 he announced Wednesday, along with state House officials.
The 53-year-old lawmaker attended last week's emergency special legislative session, when the House convened in a college basketball arena in Little Rock so lawmakers could sit at least 6 feet apart during the three-day proceedings.
Murdock was present at the arena for Friday afternoon's session, but was listed among lawmakers voting remotely through a proxy shortly after midnight Friday, when the House unanimously passed legislation to establish a $173 million fund to shore up the state budget and combat the coronavirus.
One additional House member has been tested for the virus and is awaiting results, a House spokeswoman said.
[CORONAVIRUS: Click here for our complete coverage » arkansasonline.com/coronavirus]
Murdock told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette on Wednesday that he was asymptomatic and isolating at home with his wife, Willie, an employee of the Division of Higher Education, who has not yet been tested for the virus.
"I'm feeling fine," Murdock said over the phone.
Murdock said he persuaded his personal physician on Monday to test him for the virus, despite not showing any symptoms and having no known contacts with infected people, after he read recent reports that the virus might be spread through carriers who show no symptoms. Murdock said he grew concerned because he meets frequently with constituents and groups in his district.
"I think there's certain officials that should be tested," Murdock said. "People that are coming into contact with so many people."
Murdock said he had a sinus infection two or three weeks ago, but he didn't display fever or shortness of breath at the time.
Health Department Director Dr. Nate Smith told reporters Wednesday that he did not have specific information on how Murdock received one of the tests, which have been in limited supply. A spokeswoman with the department clarified later Wednesday that while state officials are prioritizing tests for high-risk individuals, private doctors have more leeway in ordering tests for patients.
In a statement Wednesday, House Speaker Matthew Shepherd, R-El Dorado, said his "prayers are with Rep. Murdock for a quick recovery."
The speaker also said the House had taken appropriate action by moving last week's session to a larger venue, and that House leadership will follow up with the Health Department on whether additional precautions should be taken in the future.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson also weighed in, saying at a news conference Wednesday that he had spoken with Murdock and Shepherd.
"The social distancing that they accomplished during the session gives the legislators confidence that they were not at risk during that time, and that is the benefit from it," Hutchinson said. "It just reinforces the importance of what they did, the steps that they took and, obviously as we enter into the time of the fiscal session, it emphasizes the importance of those measures that they took."
Lawmakers are set to start the biennial fiscal legislative session on Wednesday, though leaders have floated the possibility of holding an immediate vote that day to delay further meetings until later in the spring.
Shepherd said the 100-member House plans to meet again away from the state Capitol. The House staff is reviewing the chamber's options, including whether the House could convene again in the Jack Stephens Center at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Senate President Pro-Tempore Jim Hendren, R-Sulphur Springs, said he expected that the 35-member Senate would meet again in its regular chambers, as it did last week, with members spread farther apart and some legislators taking some seats in the second-floor gallery, sitting in nearby offices and outside the Capitol. He said he expects limits on the number of times the Senate will meet in its chambers and for how long it meets.
On Wednesday, Smith recommended that any lawmaker who begins showing symptoms of the virus get tested and begin self-isolating.
Metro on 04/02/2020