Ben Adams and Mario Diaz-Balart

Dear Commons Community,

While much of Washington D.C. was celebrating President Trump’s signing of a coronavirus aid bill,  Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-Fla.) and Ben McAdams (D-Utah) both announced yesterday that they tested positive for COVID-19.

In a statement, Diaz-Balart said he had developed symptoms of illness, including a high fever and headache, on Saturday. Yesterday, the Republican congressman got notice he had tested positive for coronavirus. 

“I’m feeling much better,” Diaz-Balart tweeted, urging people to “take this seriously” and follow federal health guidelines to avoid spreading the virus.

Though he has been self-quarantined for several days, he was on the floor of the House voting on Friday, where he presumably came in contact with other lawmakers. 

Later Wednesday, McAdams said he’d also tested positive for coronavirus. The Utah Democrat said he’d developed “mild, cold-like” symptoms Saturday after returning from Washington, D.C. He then quarantined himself at home starting Sunday. Yesteday, he got his positive test results.

He, too, urged people to “take this seriously” and follow health officials’ recommendations.

Earlier this month, several Republican members of Congress self-quarantined after interacting with a person at the Conservative Political Action Conference who later tested positive for coronavirus. 

President Donald Trump’s doctor said Saturday that the president had tested negative for the virus after he came into contact with Fabio Wajngarten, an aide to Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro who was later diagnosed with COVID-19.

As of yesterday, there were over 100 reported fatalities from COVID-19 in the U.S., with more than 7,000 cases diagnosed across all 50 states. 

Coronavirus is an equal opportunity disease!

Tony

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