Sheriff, A Lockdown Critic, Learns He Has Virus At White House

PINAL COUNTY, AZ — An Arizona sheriff who vocally opposed a 15-day extension of Gov. Doug Ducey's stay-at-home order — at one point arguing that "300 deaths is not a significant enough" to shut down the economy — revealed Wednesday that he had tested positive for the coronavirus during a routine screening to get into the White House for an event with President Trump.

Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, a Republican, wrote in a Facebook post that had been invited to President Donald Trump's signing of an executive order on policing. He did not know his coronavirus status at the time and had not sought testing before undergoing the White House’ safety protocol for visitors.

"While still asymptomatic, I tested positive for the COVID-19," Lamb acknowledged. "I will be self-quarantining for the next 14 days minimum."

Lamb was among a cadre of Arizona sheriffs who opposed Ducey's decision extending his stay-at-home order through May 15. In comments made to the Arizona Republic at the time, Lamb argued that the order was unconstitutional and said he was considering joining a legal challenge against it.

"The numbers don’t justify the actions anymore," he told the newspaper. "Three hundred deaths is not a significant enough number to continue to ruin the economy."

Two months later, the number of those who have died from coronavirus stands at 1,271, while Arizona's economy reopens amid surging hospitalizations. On Tuesday, health officials reported a record-high number of new cases, and hospitals have been asked to activate emergency plans to increase capacity for patients in intensive care wards.

Ducey, who has faced mounting backlash on his handling of the state's response, is now recommending that cities and counties enforce their own mask laws.

In the Facebook post, Lamb did not walk back his earlier comments or address the health crisis that’s put Arizona at the forefront of those states with skyrocketing hospitalizations.

"Unfortunately, as a law enforcement official and elected leader, we do not have the luxury of staying home. This line of work is inherently dangerous," Lamb wrote. "That is a risk we take when we sign up for the job. Today, that risk is the COVID-19 virus."

But Lamb's very next sentence clarified that he believed that his contact with the virus originated from at a Saturday campaign event, not from law enforcement work.

In a video of the June 17 campaign stop posted by the Casa Grande Dispatch, long lines of people —not a single one appearing to wear a mask — are seen waiting to meet the sheriff. The video shows Lamb making physical contact with multiple people. Lamb is not shown to be masked.

During the governor's daily briefing on Wednesday, State Health Department Director Dr. Cara Christ urged Arizonans to take precautions in public and to recognize the risk of interacting with groups of people, especially "new people you may not have been exposed to."

"Viruses are mostly spread between people," Christ said, "We do know there is asymptomatic spread. They may not look sick, they may not feel sick, and so that's why it's so important that everyone wears a cloth face covering when they are out."