There were more than 106,000 Americans in the hospital with coronavirus on Wednesday.
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Texas Agriculture Commissioner who protested covid restrictions tests positive

By Katie Shepherd

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller waves as he arrives at Mar-a-Lago to meet with President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team in Palm Beach, Fla., Dec. 30, 2016. (Evan Vucci/AP)

After protesting coronavirus restrictions in front of the governor’s mansion in October, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller (R) said Wednesday that he has tested positive for the virus.

“Friends, I just got news that I have tested positive for COVID-19, and as a result, will be quarantining at my ranch,” Miller said in a statement. “Not feeling my best, but I’ve survived rodeo injuries, broken bones, hip, double knee and shoulder surgery, West Nile virus and cancer, and I’m going to beat this too.”

The cowboy hat-wearing 65-year-old had joined an anti-restriction “Free Texas” rally with about 200 other people after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) implemented a statewide mask mandate and shut down some businesses amid a coronavirus spike in the state.

“Quite frankly, governor, your cure is worse than the disease,” he said at the October protest, where few people wore masks, the Texas Tribune reported.

Miller, who is an ally to President Trump, has made headlines in the past for attacking his political enemies with obscene language, threatening to slap people who say “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas,” and fighting to protect every Texan’s right to shoot wild hogs from helicopters.

On Wednesday, after announcing that he had tested positive for coronavirus, Miller thanked the public for their support and urged Texans to support local health-care workers.

“Please continue to pray for our first responders, doctors, nurses and health care workers, especially in our rural areas,” he said. “Together, we’ll make it through this.”