Nov. 17 (UPI) — As COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the country, at least two members of the U.S. House of Representatives announced in the past 24 hours that they have tested positive for COVID-19, while a third was confirmed to be in quarantine after coming into close contact with a case.
Democratic Rep. Cheri Bustos, of Illinois, and Republican Rep. Tim Walberg, of Michigan, announced separately Monday that they tested positive for the deadly and infectious coronavirus, while Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan, of Wisconsin, said he has been in quarantine for almost a week after discovering his 91-year-old mother had been infected with COVID-19.
Bustos said she is experiencing mild symptoms but feels well and will be working remotely from her Illinois home until cleared by a physician. All those she had been in contact with have been notified, she added.
Walberg in a statement said he received the positive test result on Sunday and that he was suffering from mild symptoms.
“I remain in good spirits,” he said, adding that he hasn’t attended a public event in more than a week and those he had been in contact with were being notified.
He will continue to work remotely from home until he fully recovers, he said.
Pocan said he has been in quarantine since last Tuesday, a day after he transported his mother two hours to her nursing home on Nov. 9.
Pocan went into quarantine the day he found out a test his mother had taken days earlier had returned positive, he said.
He added he wore a mask during the entire trip with his mother and a test he took on Friday has returned negative.
“I urge everyone to stay at home when possible and wear a mask whenever they are in contact with others,” Pocan said in a statement. “Only together can we stop the spread of this deadly pandemic.”
The announcements came amid surging cases throughout the United States with health officials reporting more than 100,000 new cases for the 13th straight day on Monday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
With more than 11 million infections, the United States is the sickest country in the pandemic.
Late last week, Alaskan Rep. Don Young, the longest-serving Republican in congressional history and the oldest member in either chamber, said he also had tested positive for the virus.
