(Bloomberg) -- Representative Clay Higgins of Louisiana says he has Covid-19, the second time the Louisiana Republican says he has been infected with the virus and the second U.S. House member in a week to announce he has tested positive.
Higgins, his wife and his son have the virus, he said on Facebook Sunday night, just days after Republican Representative Vern Buchanan of Florida said he had tested positive. Several congressional staffers, including some who had already been vaccinated, have also tested positive in recent days, Congress’ attending physician alerted lawmakers last week.
The re-emergence of Covid-related cases at the Capitol comes as the entire nation experiences a surge of infections, particularly in areas with low vaccination rates. The highly contagious Delta variant is now the dominant strain in the U.S.
Earlier Sunday, even before Higgins’ news, Speaker Nancy Pelosi reiterated on ABC’s “This Week” that it will be up Brian Monahan, the Capitol physician, to decide whether to once again mandate whether lawmakers wear masks on the House floor. But she noted that she wore her mask to the news program.
Higgins, 59, a former law enforcement officer who missed House votes last week, does not say in his statement if he had been vaccinated, as had Buchanan. He says he and his wife both had Covid before “and this episode is far more challenging” and throws blame on the Chinese Communist Party.
“I have COVID, Becca has COVID, my son has COVID. Becca and I had COVID before, early on, in January 2020, before the world really knew what it was,” Higgins writes. “So, this is our second experience with the CCP biological attack weaponized virus.”
Higgins added, “We are all under excellent care, and our prognosis is positive,” noting that “our treatment of any health concern always encompasses western, eastern, and holistic variables.”
Last week, Higgins’ fellow Louisianan, Steve Scalise, the second-ranked House Republican leader, said he received a vaccine, though there is no public mention that the timing of his decision may have been related to Higgins’ illness.
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