Congress is grappling with the omicron variant as COVID-19 surges among members.
Upon its return from the holiday recess for its first legislative week of the new year, Congress re-implemented or strengthened COVID-19 mitigation efforts to slow the spread of a virus in often crowded and confined spaces. In a visible nod to the effort, chairs from a popular coffee shop in the Longworth House Office Building were removed to discourage congregating.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have disclosed positive COVID-19 cases in recent days. That includes Democratic New York Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sean Maloney and Republican Reps. John Katko of New York and Nancy Mace of South Carolina. Statements from lawmakers largely attributed mild symptoms to vaccination and urged others to get vaccinated as well. This is the second round of COVID-19 for Mace, who said she had the virus in 2020 before vaccines were available.
This morning, I tested positive for COVID-19. While I am experiencing minor cold-like symptoms, I’m grateful to be fully vaccinated and boosted, which is protecting me from more severe illness.
Please go get your vaccine and booster if you have not yet. pic.twitter.com/BQs8o0znd2
— Sean Patrick Maloney (@RepSeanMaloney) January 11, 2022
After one of my children tested positive for COVID-19 this morning, I also got tested. I tested positive. I’m fully vaccinated. This is also my 2nd round with COVID-19. Feeling ok. I will be working from home in Charleston while I quarantine and recover. https://t.co/HNEXO1ltVS
— Rep. Nancy Mace (@RepNancyMace) January 10, 2022
I tested positive for COVID-19 yesterday. I am fully vaccinated and boosted, and am thankfully experiencing only mild symptoms. I will be voting by proxy in Washington this week and working from home as I recover. My constituent service team remains available and ready to serve.
— Rep. John Katko (@RepJohnKatko) January 10, 2022
— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@RepAOC) January 9, 2022
The Office of the Attending Physician announced this month the Capitol COVID-19 testing center’s seven-day positivity rate recently climbed “from less than 1 percent to greater than 13 percent.” The office announced an expansion of the testing site in response to increased demand, moving it to a larger space in the Capitol Visitor Center, which remains closed to the public.
Capitol Hill in a nutshell: slow Covid testing line vs unmasked intern tour group enjoying the sights pic.twitter.com/qJnf6xgXo4
— Alan He (@alanhe) January 11, 2022
The office also encouraged members to facilitate telework for their staff and that those in the Capitol complex should wear KN95 or N95 masks rather than cloth or medical face masks to prevent the spread of the transmissible virus, regardless of vaccination status.
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The surge mirrors trends in Washington and the rest of the nation as cases increase.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer wrote in a schedule notice to lawmakers that he has “heard from many members expressing concerns about the surge in COVID-19 cases relating to the highly infectious omicron variant.” The Maryland Democrat said votes would be kept open for more time and that members are discouraged from congregating on the floor.
Hoyer reiterated a House requirement that masks be worn on the floor without exception. Most Republicans have complied with the mask mandate on the floor, but a handful has been subject to fines for flouting the requirement.
Washington, D.C., recently re-implemented its indoor mask mandate and will begin its vaccine mandate to enter some public spaces this weekend. But mask-wearing at the wider Capitol complex has been sporadic, which has sparked confrontations among members and staff alike.
Rep. Katherine Clark, the assistant speaker, on Tuesday wrote a letter to the House sergeant-at-arms asking that members who refuse to comply with the mask rule on the House floor be required to vote from isolation boxes in the House Gallery. Also on Tuesday, House Democrats announced they would postpone their annual caucus retreat due to the surge.
Proxy voting continues to be permitted in the House, where more than 90 members did so Monday.
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Some lawmakers chafed at the restrictions. Rep. Bob Good, a member of the far-right Freedom Caucus, suggested Republicans boycott the Capitol Hill Club, a private GOP establishment steps from the Capitol, for enforcing the city’s vaccine mandate, though few Republicans appear to support punishing the club for abiding by the city’s public health regulations.
