University of Texas at Austin President Greg Fenves’ wife Carmel Fenves has tested positive for the novel coronavirus, Dallas News reported Friday.
A second person in the family is also presumed to have the coronavirus, and Fenves, his wife and the third member are all in self-isolation, Fenves said in an email to the UT community Friday according to Dallas News.
BREAKING: President Fenves’ wife Carmel has tested positive for coronavirus, per a statement. Story to come.
— The Daily Texan (@thedailytexan) March 13, 2020
Two other cases were reported in Austin early Friday morning and the University of Texas announced earlier this week that it would extend spring break by a week and transition some classes to online after the break, Dallas News reported. Texas governor Greg Abbott announced Friday that the coronavirus is a statewide public health disaster and that Texas is on the verge of being able to significantly ramp up its testing capacity, according to Texas Tribune.
Carmel Fenves began exhibiting “mild flu-like symptoms” after a trip to New York. Her results came several hours after local health officials announced Austin’s first two cases, which did not appear to be caused by community spread, Dallas News reported.
“We took this action because the first case of COVID-19 (coronavirus) within our UT community was confirmed this morning,” Fenves said in his email sent Friday afternoon. “If you have had close contact with me or my family members or another person with COVID-19 and you are not exhibiting symptoms, we strongly recommend that you self-isolate starting today. You should continue to do so until it has been 14 days since your last contact.”
Gov. Abott’s deceleration follows President Trump’s Friday announcement that the country is facing a national emergency. (RELATED: Trump Declares National Emergency As Coronavirus Outbreak Grows)