At least nine House Democrats have announced in the past five days that they have tested positive for the coronavirus, with more than half of those cases coming after lawmakers attended a road party last week in Philadelphia.
It is unclear what caused the wave of cases or where the representatives were infected. But members of the House of Representatives lay on the floor for hours without masks during the vote, which lasted until late last Wednesday night before Democrats boarded buses to head to their caucus.
The infections have come as a painful reminder that while top officials are keen to lift strict restrictions and urge Americans to learn how to live with the coronavirus, the pandemic is raging on.
Even as reports of infections circulated on Capitol Hill and cases continued to rise globally, there was little sign that officials in the White House or Congress would reintroduce a series of precautionary measures they had just begun to lift. It reflects decisions across the country, where leaders are abandoning the restrictions and mandates of the pandemic era.
The White House on Tuesday announced that public tours would resume in April after they were suspended at the start of the pandemic. On the other side of Pennsylvania Avenue, senior lawmakers and officials on Capitol Hill are debating plans to open the building to tourists after Democrats in the House of Representatives decided earlier this month to end the mask mandate in their House, aides said, informed by the discussions. .
Fully vaccinated MPs will not be required to wear a mask on Wednesday, as members of the House of Representatives and Senate will convene in a joint session for a virtual address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. (Unvaccinated MPs will be required to wear masks, although it’s not clear how strictly this will be enforced.)
Representatives Jared Golden Maine, Joe Negus Colorado and Andy Kim New Jersey announced at hourly intervals on Tuesday morning that they had tested positive for the coronavirus. Mr. Neguse attended the retreat along with four others who have reported positive test results in recent days: representatives Madeleine Dean Pennsylvania Zoe Lofgren california, Kim Schrier Washington as well as Rosa DeLauro Connecticut.
Two other House Democrats, representatives Jerry Connolly from Virginia as well as Peter Welch from Vermontalso said they tested positive on Friday and Monday respectively. They did not attend the retreat, according to an attendee who insisted on anonymity to discuss attending a private meeting.
Representatives, their employees and their families were required to undergo PCR or rapid antigen tests prior to the event, and attendees were required to complete rapid tests in their hotel rooms on Thursday and Friday.
President Biden delivered a private speech at the Friday retreat. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that since all representatives at the retreat were vaccinated, a change in the president’s behavior is not warranted under CDC guidelines. She reiterated that Mr. Biden received a negative test result on Sunday.
Many members of the House also got together late Wednesday night to pass a major spending bill before leaving for Philadelphia, although it is not clear which members of the House were physically present as remote voting was allowed. Most Democrats who tested positive stressed that they had been vaccinated and said it was a reminder that the pandemic is not over yet.
“I contracted COVID on the two-year anniversary of the pandemic,” Mr. Kim. tweeted. “Yes, I feel miserable. I woke up in the middle of the night with a temperature, but I’m not as scared as I would have been a year or 2 ago. That doesn’t mean I’m not worried.”
The outbreak among House Democrats comes amid growing concern over a spike in coronavirus cases in parts of Europe and Asia, and warnings from public health experts that the U.S. could experience a summer or fall spike. On Tuesday, the Democrats were joined by fellow Republican Fred Upton of Michigan. who said on Twitter that he was experiencing mild symptoms after a “routine test” came back positive.
Annie Carney contributed reporting.