SCOTT CITY — A western Kansas mayor who had rejected wearing masks during the coronavirus pandemic says he has tested positive for COVID-19.

Scott City Mayor Everett Green said in a Facebook post it was possible he contracted the virus at a reelection campaign event for state Sen. Mary Jo Taylor, R-Stafford, on July 18.

Scott County health officials said in a news release that people who attended that event or the Scott County Fair from July 15 to July 18 might have been exposed to the virus, KWCH reported.

Green said he had what he thought were seasonal allergies for several days but abruptly lost his sense of smell and taste last weekend and tested positive Monday. He will be in self-quarantine at home for 14 days.

Green had taken a public stance against face masks before his diagnosis.

“But I think looking forward, when it’s appropriate to get out in public when the quarantine has lifted, it’s very possible you’ll see me wearing a face mask because the last thing I want to do is spread coronavirus to somebody else,” he said.