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Congress And COVID-19: Members' Cases And Quarantines

Updated July 20, 20213:02 PM ET
https://www.npr.org/2020/04/15/833692377/how-the-coronavirus-has-affected-individual-members-of-congress?t=1627019795707

In July, Congress saw a months-long streak with no COVID-19 cases among its member ranks during the pandemic come to a halt, and a rise in the new Delta variant threatens progress made this year.

This month, Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan said he had tested positive for the illness, despite being fully vaccinated. Buchanan, who lost a staffer to the illness last year, said he was experiencing "very mild flu-like symptoms."

A day later, on July 20, a senior communications staffer for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tested positive for the illness, the office said. And it apparently was one of multiple recent cases.

Dr. Brian Monahan, the Capitol's attending physician, issued new guidance noting that "several" staff members had been infected in addition to the one member of Congress. Monahan warned that the Delta variant had indeed been detected in the Washington, D.C. area and the Capitol buildings.

"Future developments in the coronavirus Delta variant local threat may require the resumption of mask wear for all as now seen in several counties in the United States," Monahan wrote in a guidance notes to the Capitol community. The Centers for Disease Control does not generally require vaccinated individuals to wear a mask indoors at this time.

The positive result for the Pelosi staffer follows the aide's meeting with members of a group of Texas state Democrat lawmakers who have seen at least five cases in their ranks. The lawmakers, who are in Washington, D.C. to evade a special Texas legislative session to approve new voting restrictions in the state, have met without masks with Vice President Kamala Harris, members of Congress and staffers. The group issued a statement stating that they were all vaccinated.

Before these latest cases Congress' nearly six-month pause for lawmakers dealing with the virus began after a majority of more than 500 lawmakers were fully vaccinated by January 2021, and the Capitol's attending physician lifted much of the mask mandates that dominated the past year. However, a minority of House Republican members have refused to seek vaccination.

Lawmakers impact by the coronavirus

This threat arrives after the coronavirus already exacted a large toll on the Capitol.

Last year, the pandemic upended daily work for months, sickening dozens of members and hundreds of workers. A sitting congressman, a member-elect and an aide died.

By February 2021, more than 60 lawmakers and 360 Capitol Hill workers had tested positive, or were presumed so, for the coronavirus, according to NPR's tracker and congressional aides.
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January 6 insurrection caused spike in cases on Capitol Hill

Up until this summer the most recent outbreak of cases on Capitol Hill for members was triggered by the Jan. 6 insurrection, which forced members to cluster together in rooms for several hours. Some House Republicans were seen refusing to wear masks during the ordeal.

Later, Monahan told Congress that at least one of these holding rooms for House members included a lawmaker who was already positive.

More than a half-dozen members quarantined as a result, and several tested positive, including Democratic Reps. Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey and Brad Schneider of Illinois.

In all, January proved to be one of members' worst month for the coronavirus, with at least 16 lawmakers testing positive. Before the insurrection, the House met to launch a new session before reinstating rules allowing proxy voting.

This, as congressional leaders and lawmakers received the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, which became available to members in December. The doses were provided to meet long-standing requirements for continuity of government operations, Monahan told members in a Dec. 17 note.


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https://www.npr.org/2020/04/15/833692377/how-the-coronavirus-has-affected-individual-members-of-congress?t=1627019795707