Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick quarantining after testing positive for COVID-19

AUSTIN — Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is in self-quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19, his campaign announced Monday.

Patrick, an outspoken critic of past government shutdowns stemming from coronavirus, experienced mild symptoms last week and tested positive. He has since tested negative for the virus but remains in self-quarantine in his Houston home, Allen Blakemore, the Republican’s campaign senior advisor, said in a news release.

Patrick stated in October that he is vaccinated.

“His symptoms were mild and no one else in the household was infected. He continues working from home and will return to a public schedule by the end of the week,” Blakemore said.

Gov. Greg Abbott is among the other elected officials in Texas to have tested positive early for COVID-19. Abbott has recovered from his case that was announced in August.

Patrick has had much to say about COVID-19 since the pandemic took hold in March 2020. During the earliest days of the lockdown, the lieutenant governor suggested on Tucker Carlson’s Fox News show that senior citizens should be willing to sacrifice themselves to the virus in order to maintain a healthy American economy for their grandchildren. At the time, Patrick said his stance didn’t make him “noble,” but instead he only wished to preserve the economy.

While Patrick, 71, received intense criticism for those statements, on Dec. 21 he appeared again on Carlson’s show, with the host stating that the lieutenant governor had been vindicated in his “prophetic” comments. During that appearance, Patrick called the Democratic Party the “blue Grinch” after President Joe Biden made dire warnings about the omicron variant and the danger to unvaccinated people.

“Americans do not cower, whether it is Nazis, terrorists or the China virus,” Patrick said. “We have hope. We have strength. And when you have hope and strength you have peace.”

Patrick also faced criticism for comments in August that opponents said amounted to him blaming Black people for not getting the vaccine. At the time, Texas was in the midst of a wave of new infections and some were criticizing the state and its Republican leadership for not doing enough to slow the spread.

Patrick pushed back at that narrative on Laura Ingraham’s weeknight Fox News show, stating that Democrats should be blamed for the surge in Texas, as evidenced through low vaccination rates among Black people who typically vote blue.

He faced immediate pushback from Democrats and even some Republicans for the comments, which were shown to be false in Texas, where unvaccinated white people far outnumber unvaccinated Black people.

Patrick later defended his statements, noting that the rate of unvaccinated Black people was higher than other demographics.