The fourth-ranking member of House Democratic leadership is self-quarantining after being exposed to someone with the coronavirus.
Rep. Ben Ray Lujan’s office announced on Monday that the assistant House speaker was isolating himself after having a “brief” interaction with someone who later tested positive for COVID-19. At the time of the meeting, the coronavirus patient was not exhibiting symptoms but developed them later.
“We did this out of an abundance of caution for public health,” a spokeswoman for the New Mexico Democrat said. Lujan is the first lawmaker in leadership in either the House or Senate to self-quarantine over coronavirus concerns.
No members of Congress have tested positive for the disease, though a handful has self-quarantined after potential exposure. GOP Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas was one of the first lawmakers to self-isolate after meeting someone at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference who later tested positive for the coronavirus.
By Monday afternoon, the United States had reported more than 4,200 cases of the coronavirus and at least 70 deaths from the disease. Top health officials are urging people to “social distance” by avoiding large crowds and areas such as restaurants, bars, and rallies where scores of people congregate to slow the spread of the illness.
Hospitals in the U.S. are bracing for a wave of coronavirus patients. Government officials fear that, if the disease continues to spread, the U.S. may have to issue strict regulations similar to those in Italy where the virus has infected nearly 28,000 and killed over 2,100.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte announced last week that the entire country was locking down to stop the spread of the coronavirus as some Italian hospitals were already overrun with patients. Italian citizens are now largely confined to their homes after the government closed all businesses except for pharmacies and grocery stores. People caught outside their homes without permission or a good reason to be out risk being fined.
