House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Tuesday he was experiencing “mild symptoms” after testing positive for Covid-19, making him the latest of dozens of lawmakers to contract the virus during the pandemic.
“Thankfully, I am fully vaccinated and already received my booster shot,” the 82-year-old Maryland Democrat said in a statement.
“In line with CDC guidelines and guidance from the Office of the Attending Physician, I will be working from home this week during my isolation period, and in order to protect the safety of other Members, staff, employees, and visitors to the Capitol, I will utilize proxy voting,” the statement said. “I look forward to returning to the Capitol once my isolation period is over.”
Like most of the country, Congress has been hit hard by the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus, with lawmakers young and old on both sides of the aisle testing positive since December.
Hoyer — the No. 2 Democrat in the House, behind Speaker Nancy Pelosi — is one of several members of Congress to have tested positive in recent weeks. Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the No. 3 House Democrat, tested positive in December, but the 81-year-old lawmaker was asymptomatic.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, tested positive last week, his office said Friday. Like Clyburn, Romney, 74, has been vaccinated and boosted, and he did not exhibit any symptoms.
Clyburn, Hoyer and Romney are considered more at risk due to their age.
Kyle Stewart contributed.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
