The Center Square [By Vivian Jones]-
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and First Lady Maria Lee are quarantining at home “out of an abundance of caution” after a member of the governor’s security detail tested positive Wednesday for COVID-19.
The governor has tested negative for COVID-19 and said he is feeling well. The first lady was to be tested Wednesday afternoon. No staff is believed to be positive. The security team member has not been identified, and the source of the infection is not known.
Lee told reporters on a news briefing call Wednesday afternoon the protocols for contact tracing will be followed, as with any other case.
Hours before going into quarantine, the first lady visited Westwood Elementary School in Manchester alongside Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn. The pair visited with students and school staff and delivered clothes and cleaning supplies to families in need in concert with the first lady’s initiative with the Purposity Foundation. Manchester Mayor Lonnie Norman died earlier this week after being hospitalized with COVID-19.
Lee sat on stage Tuesday beside U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette for nearly an hour at an event in Oak Ridge marking the historic cleanup of the former K-25 uranium enrichment complex.
The governor’s office cancelled a planned in-person media briefing Wednesday afternoon, and the governor and first lady will remain in quarantine for the next 14 days.
“Maria and I are feeling fine,” Lee said. “We are not sick, and hope that we don’t become that way. … We’ll certainly keep you posted … from our offices at home.”
