coronavirus matter Capital Hill has skyrocketed with new omicron Attending physicians at Variant and Capital are advising employees to telework when possible and wear N95 masks when they must come into the office.
In a lengthy memo sent to Capitol Hill employees on Monday and obtained by DailyMail.com, Dr. Brian Monahan said that both the Omicron and Delta forms of COVID ’caused unprecedented cases affecting hundreds of individuals in the Capitol community. Huh. made of.’
He said the positivity rate of the testing center at Capital Complex has increased from less than 1% to more than 13%.
Monahan warns, ‘the rate of daily cases will increase even more in the coming weeks’ Centers for Disease Control and prevention data and nationwide statistics.
Washington DC has become a hot spot for the disease, with one of the highest case rates and hospitalization rates in the country. Virginia and Maryland have the highest number of cases in DC suburbs.
Fourteen members of Congress have announced – over the past few weeks – that they have tested positive for COVID. Those lawmakers have been fully vaccinated and many of them have received their booster shot.
The country recorded the highest seven-day average on January 2, with 413,304 people testing positive for the virus last week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. At the same time, there were 1,350 new deaths on an average of seven days. That number is well below the seven-day average recorded at the peak of winter in January 2021, where the US averaged about 3,300 deaths.
Monahan advised offices to start teleworking immediately where possible. The House is not in session this week. The Senate delayed the start of its work week until Tuesday after a blizzard hit Washington DC, leading to massive flight delays and cancellations.
He wrote, ‘Offices should immediately review their work so that maximum telework posture can be adopted to minimize personal meetings and office activities as much as possible.
Physicians attending the Capitol are advising Congressional staff to telework when possible and wear N95 masks when they must come into office.
Long queues of employees to get tested for COVID ahead of holidays
The Capitol complex is expected to be crowded with lawmakers and staff on Thursday as they gather to mark the one-year anniversary of the January 6 MAGA riots at the Capitol.
He advised employees and MPs to wear KN95 masks on campus.
‘Blue surgical masks, cloth face masks and garter masks should be replaced with more protective KN95 or N95 masks. Wearing a mask is a very effective personal protection measure to reduce the risk of infection,’ Monahan wrote.
Wearing a mask has become a political issue on Capitol Hill. Many MPs have refused to wear them. They have been mandated in the House where Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Green fined thousands for refusing to donate.
Dr Monahan said the cases in the Capitol mostly represent a ‘breakthrough infection’ in individuals who have already been vaccinated. He said the Omicron version is 61% of them and the Delta version 38%.
“Dozens of people are diagnosed with the coronavirus every day at the Capitol, most of whom are vaccinated individuals,” the doctor warned Capitol Hill staff.
He said that there was no hospitalization or death in any of the cases in the Capitol.
He reminded people to take their booster shots – they are available to lawmakers and staff at the Capitol complex. Testing is also available at the Capitol Complex for lawmakers and staff.
Dr. Brian Monahan, a physician attending the Capitol, sent a lengthy COVID update to Congressional staff on Monday