OUTBREAK

9 House Democrats Have COVID After Party Retreat

A string of positive tests came after lawmakers gathered together on the House floor for voting before heading off to a private retreat.

Several House Democrats have revealed they tested positive for COVID-19 after a party retreat last week. Many of the lawmakers had been together on the House floor, maskless, for a vote on a spending bill last Wednesday before traveling together to the private party retreat in Philadelphia, The New York Times reports. Reps. Jared Golden (ME), Joe Neguse (CO), and Andy Kim (NJ) were among those to reveal their diagnoses on Tuesday, while four other lawmakers said they had caught the virus in recent days. Two other lawmakers, Reps. Gerald Connolly (VA) and Peter Welch (VT), also tested positive, though they reportedly did not attend the party retreat. While President Joe Biden delivered a speech at the event on Friday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said all those lawmakers present were vaccinated and the president tested negative for the virus on Sunday. The outbreak comes after Vice President Kamala Harris’ husband, Doug Emhoff, also revealed a COVID-19 diagnosis, prompting the vice president to pull out of an event with Biden at the White House.