Coronavirus cases on Capitol Hill have skyrocketed with the new Omicron variant and the attending physician of the Capitol is advising staff to telework when possible and wear an N95 mask when they have to come into the office.
In a lengthy memo to Capitol Hill staff sent on Monday and obtained by DailyMail.com, Dr. Brian Monahan said that both the Omicron and Delta variants of COVID ‘have caused an unprecedented number of cases in the Capitol community affecting hundreds of individuals.’
He said the testing center’s positivity rate in the Capitol complex has risen from less than 1% to greater than 13%.
‘The daily case rates will increase even more substantially in the coming weeks,’ Monahan warned citing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data and nationwide stasticts.
Washington D.C. has become a hot spot for the disease with one of the highest case rates and hospitalization rates in the nation. In Virginia and Maryland, the highest case spikes are in the DC suburbs.
Fourteen members of Congress have announced – over the past few weeks – that they have tested positive for COVID. Those lawmakers have been fully vaccinated and many of them have had their booster shot.
The country recorded its highest seven-day average number of COVID cases on January 2, with 413,304 people testing positive for the virus over the past week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. At the same time, on a seven-day average, there were 1,350 new deaths. That number is far lower than the seven-day average recorded at the peak of winter in January 2021, where the US averaged around 3,300 deaths.
Monahan advised offices to immediately begin teleworking where possible. The House is not in session this week. The Senate delayed the start of their work week until Tuesday after Washington D.C. was hit with a snowstorm that caused massive flight delays and cancelations.
Offices ‘should immediately review their operations to adopt a maximal telework posture to reduce in-person meetings and in-office activities to the maximum extent possible,’ he wrote.
Attending physician of the Capitol is advising congressional staff to telework when possible and wear an N95 mask when they have to come into the office
Ahead of the holidays long lines of staffers formed to get tested for COVID
The Capitol complex is expected to be crowded with lawmakers and staff on Thursday, when they gather to mark the one-year anniversary of the January 6th MAGA riot in the Capitol.
He advised staff and lawmakers to wear KN95 masks when in the complex.
‘Blue surgical masks, cloth face masks and gaiter masks must be replaced by the more protective KN95 or N95 masks. Wearing a mask is a very effective personal protective measure to reduce the risk of infection,’ Monahan wrote.
Mask wearing has become a political issue on Capitol Hill. Several lawmakers have refused to wear them. They are mandatory in the House where Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has racked up thousands in fines for refusing to don one.
Dr. Monahan said the cases in the Capitol represent ‘breakthrough infections’ among mostly previously vaccinated individuals. He said the Omicron variant counts for 61% of them and the Delta variant counts for 38%.
‘Dozens of individuals with coronavirus infection are identified at the Capitol daily, with the majority of these occurring in vaccinated individuals,’ the doctor warned Capitol Hill staff.
He said none of the cases in the Capitol have led to hospitalization or death.
He reminded people to get their booster shot – they are available to lawmakers and staff in the Capitol complex. Testing is also available in the Capitol complex to lawmakers and staff.
Attending Physician of the Capitol Dr. Brian Monahan sent a long COVID update to congressional staffers on Monday
