WATCH: Tim Walters, Co-Founder of Reopen Maryland, Has COVID-19

Tim Walters, the co-founder of a group protesting for the State of Maryland to reopen amidst Coronavirus, has tested positive for COVID-19.

Walters, 53, the organizer for Reopen Maryland, delivered the news in a series of social media posts, but said he “won’t work with public health officials trying to track and limit the spread of the pandemic,” according to the Capital Gazette.

In the Facebook videos, which he began posting on June 22, Walters said, “I was diagnosed yesterday at the ER with COVID-19 and here I am months after not wearing a mask at rallies, churches and so on and so it’s funny how capricious this thing is.”

Here’s what you need to know:

Walters Discussed How He Was Coping With ‘Day 15 of My House Arrest’ on Facebook Live

Walters discussed the diagnosis via Facebook Live on June 25.

He said in the video it was “day 15 of my house arrest, which apparently hasn’t worked, because this is day two of me having COVID.

“I did have a hard day yesterday … I crashed later in the day, I had to go to the emergency room. I thought I was having a stroke … turns out I have COVID. I’m not feeling quite myself today.”

He asked people to pray for him during the next two weeks in quarantine, and said his wife and son were getting tested.

“As you can see, I’m not dying! It’s uncomfortable. I would make it akin to having the flu. I will be doing a video journal … so we can help educate people,” he says.

Walters Is a ‘US Navy veteran & Former Republican Candidate for Maryland’s House of Delegates’

Walters is a “US Navy veteran and former Republican candidate for Maryland’s House of Delegates,” according to CNN.

He is the co-founder of Reopen Maryland, a group that “protested the state’s stay-at-home order and has pressured Republican Gov. Larry Hogan to ease restrictions amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic,” CNN reported.

In a push to “reopen the state’s economy,” the group “organized rallies in Annapolis and across the state.”

CNN said that “Hogan has gradually lifted restrictions in the state, allowing gyms, casinos and malls to reopen last week, but people in Maryland are still required to wear face coverings in retail spaces and on public transportation.”

Hogan said in a statement on Facebook on June 26, “as Marylanders have gathered to peacefully protest in recent weeks, I want to reiterate to those participating in these events that it’s still important to continue to take all precautions to reduce the risks of spreading the coronavirus.

“Our health experts are strongly encouraging anyone who attended a demonstration or mass gathering to immediately get tested for coronavirus, and they are also advised to avoid contact with vulnerable populations.”

Walters has Not Changed His Views on Wearing Masks in Public

In an interview with The Daily Record, Walters reiterated that contracting the virus had not caused him to change his views on wearing masks in public, claiming there was “too much proof that masks don’t work.”

‘Masks are an absolutely great tool for people that want to use them to use them … if you think that you’re sick and you have to go out you should be, out of respect, in a mask.

‘I don’t care if you wear a mask or not. I’m not here to advocate for that. I think the government’s role is to educate us so we can make those informed decisions.’

Walters said he sees his dissent as a fight for personal liberties not for himself but for his children and grandchildren.

‘We have to decide as a nation if this fear is worth our liberties because once we lose them, we don’t get them back.’

Reopen Maryland expressed their support for Walters on Facebook in a post on June 28, which read, “we stand with our cofounder Tim Walters, who has been unfairly and inaccurately attacked by the media, singled out by the governor, and targeted along with his family on social media, over his recent COVID-19 diagnosis.”

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