Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids self-quarantines after exposure to lawmaker with COVID-19
Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids announced Thursday that she will self-quarantine after contact with member of Congress who has tested positive for COVID-19.
Davids, D-Kansas, joins a growing list of U.S. House members who decided to isolate themselves after two members tested positive for the novel coronavirus: Florida Republican Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart and Utah Democratic Rep. Ben McAdams.
“In following the guidance I received from the Attending Physician of Congress, and out of an abundance of caution, I will stay home and self-quarantine until March 26,” Davids said in a statement which did not reveal which of the two members she was in contact with last week.
“I’m thankfully feeling well and have had not experienced any symptoms. The Attending Physician said that I’m at very low risk for contracting COVID-19, as are the people I’ve interacted with recently,” she said. “But as I’ve said before, we all have a role to play in reducing the spread of this virus, and that means self-quarantining when appropriate.”
Davids is the first Kansas lawmaker to self-quarantine. Missouri Republican Rep. Ann Wagner has also confined herself after possible exposure to a colleague who has tested positive.
Davids’ announcement comes a day after the freshman Democrat criticized the decision to limit testing in Johnson County, where she resides and where the bulk of Kansas cases have been identified. As of Thursday morning, 16 people in Johnson County have tested positive for COVID-19. Another eight cases have been identified in Wyandotte County, including one death.
Davids’ district includes both counties and parts of Miami County.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment announced the decision to limit testing in Johnson County because of the limited number of test kits and because there’s already evidence of community spread.
Davids said she would be working from home during her self-quarantine. The congresswoman had already instructed her staff to telework as the virus spreads in both Kansas and Washington, D.C.
“I will be teleworking from home and continuing to serve the people of Kansas’ Third District as we respond to this public health crisis. I remain committed to working with our public health officials at all levels of government to keep our community prepared and safe,” Davids said.
“I urge everyone to follow CDC and local public health guidelines, including practicing good hygiene and social distancing, as we work through this challenge together.”
This story was originally published March 19, 2020 at 12:23 PM.
