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CHARLESTON -- Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said he was quarantining at home after recently being diagnosed with COVID-19 and pneumonia.
The West Virginia Attorney General's Office released a statement Monday afternoon from Morrisey announcing the positive coronavirus test. The office did not release any specific details regarding the circumstances of how he was infected.
In his statement, Morrisey said he was diagnosed with COVID-19 last week, and is resting at home, where he is receiving breathing and medical treatment.
"Fellow West Virginians, last week I was diagnosed with COVID-19 and pneumonia," Morrisey said. "I am feeling better today, and as such I am busy working from home. Make no mistake about it, this can be a nasty virus, especially for those who are elderly or may be immunocompromised."
The statement comes two weeks after Morrisey released a statement in response to a political beef between the three-term Attorney General and Gov. Jim Justice regarding an expansion of an executive requiring masks to be worn in all public buildings and offices.
In November, Justice expanded on an earlier July order requiring masks indoors. Now, it is mandatory to wear masks or face coverings in all public buildings and offices at all times, regardless of the ability to socially distance. Businesses are to post signs at all entrances announcing compliance with the order.
Justice said during a Nov. 12 COVID-19 briefing that if business owners encountered customers who refuse to wear a mask indoors when asked, those business owners should call law enforcement, though he has since walked back that statement.
In a post on his personal Facebook page Nov. 18, Morrisey encouraged people to wear masks, practice social distancing, and wash hands. He also said was watching "… to ensure that any efforts to use the criminal code for any purpose are not applied in an arbitrary, improper or heavy-handed manner."
That Facebook post was interpreted by Justice as Morrisey not supporting face masks. The Governor's Office released a statement that same evening critical of Morrisey's Facebook post. He also addressed Morrisey's post during a Nov. 23 briefing.
"I was damned disappointed," Justice said. "I think it's a crying shame that he may have overlooked the severity of this situation."
Responding to Justice's comments, that same day, Morrisey denied being against the mask executive order. However, Morrisey said that encouraging people to call the police on people who refuse to wear masks indoors was unneeded.
"No one is having a dispute about whether we should wear masks and take all precautions possible to stop this deadly virus. I encourage our citizens to take such precautions," Morrisey said. "We need to both protect the public health and our constitutional rights. I believe in West Virginians and have faith that our citizens don't need threats of jail time to convince them to do the right thing and pull together to tackle this virus."
Wrapping up his statement Monday, Morrisey said he was looking forward to returning to work.
"Keep the faith West Virginia," Morrisey said. "As your attorney general, I'm excited to continue fighting to protect our jobs, to keep our people safe and to uphold our constitutional rights. I hope to be back in the office in the very near future."
Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com