Had been in contact with Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black
American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) President Zippy Duvall has tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and is recovering at his home.
In an email to Feed Strategy, an AFBF spokesperson said Duvall was tested last week after he developed symptoms including fever and cough.
“He was and remains at home in quarantine and, on the bright side, feeling strong and in good spirits,” the spokesperson said in the email. “He has been working from home on his farm for the past two weeks, having traveled only once in an official capacity to events within the state of Georgia. The hosts of those events, along with others with whom he came into contact over the past two weeks, have been notified.”
AFBF said Duvall had been in contact with U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Sonny Perdue, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black at events in Bremen and Cartersville, Georgia, on June 25. The USDA said Perdue is routinely tested for COVID-19 and has tested negative since the event with Duvall.
Georgia has been a hotspot for COVID-19 cases, with nearly 120,000 cases as of July 13 – more than 2,500 of which were reported in the previous 24 hours. There have been more than 3,000 COVID-19 deaths in the state.
View our continuing coverage of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.