ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — A Maryland man who has helped organize "reopen" protests against measures intended to slow the spread of the coronavirus says he has been sickened with COVID-19.

Tim Walters, a co-founder of the ReOpen Maryland movement, announced this week on social media that he has tested positive, the Capital Gazette and Washington Post reported. Walters declined an interview request from either newspaper, which reported that he said he would not provide any information to public health officials trying to trace the spread of the disease.

Walters emphasized he had contacted people he'd recently interacted with.