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After outcry, Georgia State Senator Bruce Thompson returns home to self-quarantine

State Sen. Bruce Thompson caused a big uproar after he went to his vacation home in Florida to self-isolate. Thompson recently tested positive for COVID-19.

BARTOW COUNTY, Ga. — A north Georgia State Senator who recently tested positive for COVID-19 has found himself in the middle of a cross-state controversy.

State Senator Bruce Thompson (R-Bartow County) posted on Facebook that he was released from the hospital on March 21 and he would be self-isolating at home. 

But according to Franklin County, Florida Sheriff A.J. “Tony” Smith, that should mean Thompson’s home in Georgia, not his vacation home in Florida.

“They are supposed to quarantine for 14 days. I have put a deputy on their house," Smith said in a Facebook Live video. "If they leave, they will be asked why."

According to Smith, Thompson drove to his home on St. George Island on Tuesday night. After outcry, Smith said Thompson left on Wednesday.

Florida recently started checkpoints at the state lines on I-10 and I-95. Anyone coming from an area with high rates of coronavirus will be asked to self-isolate or even be turned away at the border.

But does it matter where you choose to self-isolate?

“I actually think it was fine for the state senator to travel to Florida, provided he used a private car, didn’t get out and expose anyone new,” said 11Alive medical correspondent Dr. Sujatha Reddy.

11Alive reached out to Thompson for comment, but he didn’t respond.

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