Austin Police Chief, Texas House Speaker Contract Coronavirus

AUSTIN, TX — Austin Police Chief Brian Manley has contracted the coronavirus and is currently in self-isolation, a police department spokesperson confirmed Monday.

"I can confirm that the chief tested positive and is currently quarantining," an Austin Police Department spokesperson told Patch via email in response to a query. It's unclear where or when Manley may have contracted the virus.

Dr. Mark Escott, the interim Austin-Travis County health authority, also confirmed the police chief's positive diagnosis during a regular coronavirus update session with reporters on Monday. But he cited patient confidentiality provisions in declining to discuss details of Manley's condition.

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Over the weekend, multiple media reports also reported that the state's outgoing Speaker of the House, Dennis Bonnen, and his wife also had contracted the respiratory illness virus. On Sunday, Bonnen confirmed the reports via his Facebook page.

“We are unable to pinpoint our initial exposure, as we – like so many other families – made the difficult decision to celebrate Christmas with just our own household this year and have diligently followed all health protocols since March, thanks to my wife’s adamant reminders,” Bonnen wrote on his Facebook page.

He described his symptoms as mild. While Bonnen tested positive over the weekend, his wife, Kim Bonnen, tested positive last week and "...continues to battle difficult but manageable symptoms," the speaker wrote.

After less than a year as speaker of the Texas House, Bonnen last October announced he would not be seeking reelection — a decision spurred after the emergence of a secretly taped recording of him offering media credentials to the Legislature in exchange for dirt on his rivals. Bonnen also was heard making disparaging remarks against numerous Democrats and expressing a desire to make the next legislative session the worst "...in the history of the Legislature for cities and counties."