Breakthrough COVID-19 cases among vaccinated congressional staff members and a member of Congress along with an increase of cases due to the virus’s delta variant prompted some in the Capitol complex to return hastily to donning face coverings.
Staff members and reporters who had for weeks gone maskless in the Capitol started to wear the cloth coverings again on Tuesday following news of a vaccinated spokesperson for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi testing positive.
A line formed at the once no-wait free COVID-19 testing site in the Capitol complex on Tuesday. Pelosi and several of her staff members were spotted in the Capitol all wearing masks, though she took hers off during a press conference.
While official masking rules have not yet changed for those in the Capitol, a memo sent to congressional offices on Tuesday from the Capitol’s Office of Attending Physician Dr. Brian Monahan kept open the possibility that the complex could return to a mandatory-masks-for-all policy.
“Individuals have the personal discretion to wear a mask and 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 said in the memo.
WHITE HOUSE AIDE AND SENIOR PELOSI STAFFER TEST POSITIVE FOR CORONAVIRUS
Both the Pelosi spokesperson and a White House staff member who was also fully vaccinated but tested positive attended a reception for Texas fugitive Democratic legislators in the Capitol last week, Axios reported.
Six of the Texas Democrats, many of whom got “sloppy” going maskless on a chartered plane flying to Washington, D.C., as one state legislator put it, tested positive for the virus in the last few days despite being fully vaccinated.
Drew Hammill, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, said in a statement that “the entire press office is working remotely today with the exception of individuals who have had no exposure to the individual or have had a recent negative test. Our office will continue to follow the guidance of the Office of Attending Physician closely.”
News of the positive test in Pelosi’s staff followed Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida on Monday announcing that he had tested positive for the virus despite being fully vaccinated and was experiencing mild flu-like symptoms.
“This should serve as a reminder that although the vaccines provide a very high-degree of protection, we must remain vigilant in the fight against COVID-19,” Buchanan said in a statement.
The memo from the Capitol revealed that the Pelosi spokesperson was not the only congressional staff member who has tested positive for the virus despite being fully vaccinated, saying that “several vaccinated Congressional staff members” have contracted the virus, adding that the delta variant had been detected in the Capitol.
“Vaccinated individuals seeking to further reduce their risk of disease, or further reduce potential risk of transmitting disease to vulnerable household members, may consider additional protective actions such as wearing a well-fitted, medical-grade filtration mask when they are in a crowded or interior location,” Monahan said. “The Centers for Disease Control does not generally require vaccinated individuals to wear a mask indoors at this time.”
In May, Capitol-based reporters and staff members were among the first to embrace the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s updated guidance that said fully vaccinated individuals did not need to wear masks on the campus. An overwhelming majority of individuals had been traveling through the complex mask-free for weeks.
For several weeks, though, a mandatory mask mandate remained on the House floor, prompting several House Republicans at one point to revolt and not wear masks on the floor. The floor masking requirement was lifted on June 11, after a senior Democratic aide said that 85% of House members had been vaccinated.
The delta variant, though, is putting the brakes on a return to normalcy.
“This viral variant is much more contagious and accounts for most disease transmission now in the United States,” Monahan said in the memo to congressional offices. “Despite the excellent protective value of the vaccine in preventing hospitalization and death, there is still a possibility a fully vaccinated individual could acquire infection in their nose and throat, mild symptoms, or the ability to transmit the coronavirus infection to others.”
Panic about breakthrough cases and the delta variant comes as Republicans face heat for some members in their ranks speaking out against COVID-19 vaccine mandates, which some argue crosses the line to false information.
On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urged people to get vaccinated and “ignore all of these other voices that are giving demonstrably bad advice.”
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House Minority Whip Steve Scalise was vaccinated on Sunday, NOLA.com reported, after delaying taking the shot for months because he had previously tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies.
“Especially with the delta variant becoming a lot more aggressive and seeing another spike, it was a good time to do it,” Scalise told NOLA.com. “When you talk to people who run hospitals, in New Orleans or other states, 90% of people in hospital with delta variant have not been vaccinated. That’s another signal the vaccine works.”
