‘I think I’ve about got it licked,’ TX Ag commissioner Sid Miller says of COVID-19
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller announced Wednesday evening that he has tested positive for COVID-19.
The commissioner, who said he is quarantining at his ranch in Stephenville, was recently in Fort Worth for a Dec. 4 panel discussion at Pearl’s Dancehall & Saloon. Miller told the Star-Telegram he is “99% sure” he caught the virus from his wife, who attended a funeral on Dec. 5.
Miller said he was tested on Wednesday after he began to feel sick and got his positive test result back the same day.
“I think I’ve about got it licked,” Miller said. “I took some good medicine.”
Miller said he’d taken Ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.
“I think tomorrow I’ll be back to normal,” Miller said, adding that he does plan to get tested to see if he’s negative when he thinks he’s over the virus.
The Thursday remarks follow a Wednesday statement in which Miller said he “just got news that I have tested positive for COVID-19.”
“Not feeling my best, but I’ve survived rodeo injuries, broken bones, hip, double knee and shoulder surgery, west nile virus and cancer, and I’m going to beat this too,” Miller said. “Thank you for your prayers and support, and please continue to pray for our first responders, doctors, nurses and health care workers, especially in our rural areas. Together, we’ll make it through this.”
Mark Loeffler, a spokesperson for Miller’s office, said he does not have any information about whether there are contract tracing efforts ongoing. Miller said he has reached out to those he had contact with going back to Sunday. Miller said that since Monday he’s been at home and at his office.
Social media posts shared on Miller’s Facebook page show that he moderated the Dec. 4 panel on “Why the West Wins” that included eight panelists. Miller said he does not believe he got he virus at the event.
A video from the event shows the panelists sitting at three rows of tables, while Miller moderated from a table placed in front of them. Miller and the panelists do not appear to be wearing masks.
A flyer for the event posted online states COVID-19 protocols will be followed. This includes limited capacity, temperature checks and mask requirements, except when seated, according to Pugnacious, the event planning and PR team that hosted the event.
Miller said he has not attended the National Cutting Horse Association World Championship Futurity that started Nov. 19 and runs through Dec. 13. Miller said he did go the 2020 Wrangler National Finals Rodeo on Saturday night. Miller said he was in a private suite.
“There wasn’t very many of us in there, so I don’t think I got it there,” Miller said.
On Dec. 4, Miller shared a Facebook a video of him marking the start of the rodeo. In it he promotes the panel discussion, which he said was created by Pugnacious “especially for the WNFR.”
Miller has spoken out against Gov. Greg Abbott’s coronavirus orders. In October he participated in a “Free Texas” rally in Austin, according to the Texas Tribune.
“Just when you thought Texas might be fully reopening, businesses are being shuttered once again and their owners & employees face financial ruin,” a Dec. 5 Facebook post from Miller reads. “We must allow the people of Texas to do what is best for their health, safety, and (livelihoods.)”
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 9:10 PM.
