A state lawmaker who opposed Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s extended lockdown has been diagnosed with COVID-19, leaving numerous legislators potentially exposed to the virus. Sen. Tom Barrett, a Republican, learned he is infected after undergoing mandatory screening because he is in the Army National Guard. “Thankfully I do not have any significant symptoms at this time, and I will be self-isolating according to medical guidelines,” said Barrett, who attended committee meetings, in a mask, last week. “I have done my best to make contact with those I have been around in the past couple weeks so that they may also seek medical advice.” Whitmer’s statewide lockdown is credited with bringing the spread of the virus under control this spring, though numbers have started to spike again since reopening.
