Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) announced Sunday morning that he is taking “additional distancing precautions” in light of a former staffer testing positive for COVID-19.
In a Sunday morning tweet, Schiff said that the precautions include postponing meetings and teleworking. Schiff added a statement saying that medical professionals believe that the former staffer “likely contracted the virus after leaving the office” 10 days ago.
I was informed that a former staffer who left our office 10 days ago has tested positive for COVID-19.
Although doctors believe the staffer contracted the virus after leaving my office, I'm taking additional distancing precautions, including postponing meetings and teleworking: pic.twitter.com/EfwsDo1BZG
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) March 15, 2020
Schiff’s move comes within days of the Capitol halting all public tours and the Senate canceling its planned recess amid growing coronavirus fears. The night before the Senate canceled its recess, a staffer for Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) came down with COVID-19, marking the first case of the coronavirus on Capitol Hill.
Last week, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) announced that they were self-quarantining after shaking hands with someone at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) less than two weeks ago who later tested positive for coronavirus.
A few days later, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) announced that he is self-quarantining following a trip to Mar-a-Lago that Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro — whose press aide tested positive for coronavirus — also attended.
