Coronavirus

Coronavirus Fight Hits Home for McKinney Mayor

The Mayor's friend died from coronavirus and his daughter has been diagnosed with it

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In his effort to combat the coronavirus, McKinney Mayor George Fuller has spent days in the public eye.

Now, the crisis is hitting home.

“It’s become a little bit too close to home for me,” Fuller said.

Last week, he revealed his friend and fellow musician died from coronavirus.

Monday, the Mayor revealed his 19-year-old daughter Layla has tested positive for COVID-19.

As a college student in Dallas, he said Layla lives in an off-campus apartment and he hasn’t seen her in-person for more than two weeks.

“We have been back and forth over the last week dropping food off just on her porch. I can't imagine that we've been compromised,” Fuller said.

To be safe, he said he and his wife are in isolation while they await test results.

“I have been consistent from the very beginning on what we need to do as a community so all it does is galvanize my position,” Fuller said.

Non-essential businesses in McKinney are shut down under the city's shelter-in-place order.

The day after it took effect last week, Fuller was sued by Derek Baker, a McKinney realtor claiming the order is illegal.

“It causes a great deal of confusion to business owners,” Baker told NBC 5 on Friday.

Monday, Jim Pikl, an attorney representing Baker, defended his recent social media posts.

One tweet by Pikl earlier this month stated, "The COVID19 hoax was started by Proctor and Gamble to start an emergency purchasing war to clean out their inventories…"

Pikl now says it was sarcasm.

“It’s infuriating,” Fuller said. "That’s reckless and can be damaging and yeah, I take great exception to it and I've got a friend I've lost, I've got a daughter that has it, I've got a community that’s seeing the impact," Fuller said.

He said he stands by the order to shelter-in-place.

A judge is set to rule on the case Tuesday afternoon. A hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m.

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