(PresidentialInsider.com)- Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) revealed that she tested negative for COVID-19 and would be released from isolation on Tuesday.
Pelosi, who tested positive for the virus on Thursday, said she is leaving isolation after being cleared by the Capitol’s attending physician and will comply with CDC standards for asymptomatic people.
The news that Pelosi had tested positive for COVID-19 was announced just as she started her weekly press conference in the Capitol.
Several House legislators and high-profile D.C. personalities have tested positive for the virus in recent days. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and Rep. Adam Schiff are all on the list (D-Calif.).
Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, reported her positive test late Thursday, just hours after the Senate voted to confirm Supreme Court candidate Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Since Friday, at least six House members have revealed coronavirus diagnoses.
According to CDC guidelines, individuals who test positive for COVID-19 but are asymptomatic can be released from isolation after at least five days.
The health service advises them to take measures for the next ten days following their positive test, such as wearing a well-fitting mask, not traveling, and avoiding being around those more likely to become severely ill from the virus.
Some experts have cautioned that the rise in infections among high-profile elite denizens of D.C. might signal an increase in cases across the country in the following weeks.
According to Politico, numerous journalists who attended the Gridiron dinner also tested positive.
Cases are already on the rise in D.C., New York, and other parts of the northeast, but hospitalizations are still declining.
However, many experts believe that hospitalizations are a more significant indicator to use for assessing the pandemic’s progress than case counts. Purportedly, vaccinations protect against severe sickness, so the focus has shifted to preventing hospitals from becoming overburdened.
