Two more House members announce they have Covid-19

Two more House members announced Sunday evening that they have tested positive for Covid-19 as cases continue to surge nationwide.

Rep. Bryan Steil, a Republican from Wisconsin, and Rep. Joe Courtney, a Democrat from Connecticut, announced separately that they had contracted the virus and are isolating as a result.

“After working in Washington, DC all of last week, I began experiencing mild symptoms this weekend and contacted my health care provider while at home in Janesville,” Steil wrote in a statement posted to his Twitter account.

“I took a COVID-19 test today and the results came back positive. Following CDC guidelines, I am immediately quarantining and will continue serving the people of Southeast Wisconsin from my home in Janesville.”

Courtney, meanwhile, said in a statement that he learned last week he was inadvertently exposed to someone who later tested positive for Covid-19. After “following the strict isolation guidelines laid out by the CDC,” his first test came back negative, but a second test came back positive Sunday evening.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence in my treating doctor and in my team—our work for eastern Connecticut will continue as always, and I’ll keep performing my duties in a safe, remote fashion while isolated at my home,” Courtney said.

The experience, he added, “reinforces my strong belief that right now, we need to be doing our part to help our communities by listening to the experts at the CDC—we’ve got to remain vigilant about wearing masks, social distancing, and the basic essentials like washing our hands frequently.”

More and more lawmakers from both parties and chambers of Congress have announced they’ve tested positive with Covid-19 amid the uptick of cases in the country. The House began offering Covid-19 testing for members earlier this month, eight months after the pandemic began.

This comes as more than 3 million new cases were reported between November 1 and 22, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That’s about a quarter of all US cases since the beginning of this pandemic.

Both Steil and Courtney each won re-election this month with nearly 60% of the respective vote.

This story has been updated to include Rep. Joe Courtney’s Covid-19 diagnosis.