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WATERBURY, Conn. — Rep. Jahana Hayes of Connecticut has tested positive for the new coronavirus and will quarantine for 14 days, she announced Sunday on Twitter.
“After going to 2 urgent care centers yesterday, I finally got an appointment at a 3rd site and was tested this morning,” the first-term Democrat said. Hayes said she has no COVID-19 symptoms “except for breathing issues which are being monitored.”
Hayes sought testing after one of her staff members tested positive for the virus on Saturday. She reported experiencing no symptoms, except for respiratory concerns.
READ MORE: Officials change COVID testing advice, bewildering experts
Hayes, 47, said she contracted the virus despite taking “every possible precaution.” She said her experience underscores the need for a national testing strategy “with a coherent way to receive speedy, accurate results,” adding, “This level of anxiety and uncertainty is untenable.”
Hayes went on to explain in the thread that members of Congress are not regularly tested for the virus, which nearly 6.8 million people have contracted in America, and that mass testing does not exist in Washington, D.C. The virus, which causes the disease COVID-19, has been connected to more than 199,000 deaths in the country and more than deaths 958,300 globally, according to data compiled by researchers at Johns Hopkins University.
READ MORE: People who test positive for coronavirus twice as likely to have eaten at restaurant: study
“Masks, social distancing & frequent floor cleanings are the precautions that are taken in the House. I have taken every possible precaution and still contracted coronavirus,” she wrote in one tweet.
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