Arlington state Rep. Tony Tinderholt recovering after testing positive for COVID-19
Rep. Tony Tinderholt is recovering after testing positive for the novel coronavirus just over two weeks ago, making him the first known Texas state lawmaker to contract the virus.
In a statement Friday afternoon, Tinderholt, a Republican from Arlington, confirmed that he and his family had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The Texas Tribune first reported the news Friday.
Luke Macias, a spokesman for Tinderholt, said that Tinderholt had begun to experience a loss of taste and smell, headaches, aching joints and trouble breathing. When asked if Tinderholt had any underlying conditions that might put him at greater risk, Macias said Tinderholt has a titanium heart valve as a result of injuries received during his time in the military.
“I went to the hospital and was sent home and told to come back if my oxygen count decreased beyond a certain number. Though I got increasingly worse, it was not to the level at which my hospital said I should return,” Tinderholt said in a statement.
Instead, he sought treatment from Dr. Brian C. Procter at McKinney Family Medicine. He said he started improving “almost immediately” after his treatment began.
While Macias declined to detail Tinderholt’s treatment, he wrote in an email Friday that Procter, in coordination with Tinderholt’s cardiologist, decided it was best that Tinderholt not take the anti-malarial drug hydroxychloroquine because of his heart complications.
Tinderholt’s two children also tested positive, but were asymptomatic, and his wife Bethany experienced minor symptoms for a short time, according to the statement.
“All are well now. Though I am not quite back to 100% health, I am feeling much better and continue to self isolate and heal inside my home,” Tinderholt said. “I praise the Lord for keeping my family safe and for sending an excellent medical professional who was not afraid to practice the medicine he felt was in the best interest of his patients.”
Tinderholt has clashed with Gov. Greg Abbott over his handling of the pandemic, and had called for a special session in the wake of Abbott’s statewide mask mandate. In April, when Texans were required to stay home under Abbott’s executive order at the time, Tinderholt and other members of the hardline conservative Texas House Freedom Caucus called on Abbott to loosen his restrictions to the greatest extent possible.
This story was originally published July 31, 2020 at 5:11 PM.
