House

Connecticut Democrat tests positive for coronavirus

A Connecticut Democrat announced on Sunday that she had been diagnosed with coronavirus.

Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.) tweeted that she would quarantine for two weeks after testing positive following several unsuccessful attempts to get tested.

“This morning I received a positive COVID-19 test result and will be quarantined for the 14 days,” she wrote. “After going to 2 urgent care centers yesterday, I finally got an appointment at a 3rd site and was tested this morning.”

“I have taken every possible precaution and still contracted coronavirus,” she added.

Hayes said she was asymptomatic, other than some breathing issues, but said her experience and that of her staff “underscore the need for a nat’l testing strategy with a coherent way to receive speedy, accurate results. This level of anxiety and uncertainty is untenable.”

Hayes’s tweet comes as Connecticut’s COVID-19 caseload have remained at a low rate following a spike earlier this year; the state currently averages about 172 cases per day, according to The New York Times.

Nearly 200,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus since the pandemic reached the U.S.’s shores earlier this year, and more than 6 million Americans have been infected, making the U.S. the country with the highest number of confirmed cases.