Rep. Lou Correa tests positive for COVID-19

Rep. Lou Correa (D-Calif.) announced Saturday he tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the latest in a string of lawmakers to contract the virus.

Correa said he tested positive Friday after a routine test upon returning to Washington and that he is currently quarantining away from his family. He received the first of two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine on Dec. 19 and has yet to receive the second shot. 

“In my community, everyone knows someone affected. COVID-19 has hit us hard, and for months, families have struggled while our community attempts to contain the virus. Even in quarantine, I will continue to work for them and ensure my struggling neighbors in Central Orange County have the assistance they need to survive,” he said in a statement.

Correa said his diagnosis will bar him from attending President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration on Wednesday but added that he is looking “forward to working with the new administration to unite our country and help the millions of people devastated by the pandemic. Americans need help, and that help is finally on the way.”

Yesterday, I tested positive for COVID-19. I will be responsible & self-quarantine, away from my family, for the recommended time.

While I’ll miss the much-anticipated inauguration of President-elect @JoeBiden, I look forward to working with the new Admin to unite our country!

— Rep. Lou Correa (@RepLouCorrea) January 16, 2021

The California Democrat is the latest in a growing list of lawmakers who have tested positive for the coronavirus since last week’s violent riot at the Capitol. Several Democrats who have tested positive were in a secure room during the riots with Republicans who they said refused to wear masks.

Correa’s office said he was not in the secure room but was outside the complex to assist Capitol Police in trying to quell the mob. However, the lawmaker was confronted later last week by a throng of Trump supporters at Dulles International Airport.

The House Office of the Attending Physician circulated a letter to members urging them to closely monitor their health after it was discovered that at least one person who was in lockdown with them had been infected. There are also concerns rioters could have spread the virus as they ransacked the Capitol building.

Dozens of lawmakers of both parties have contracted COVID-19 since the pandemic began, and members of both chambers began receiving vaccinations last month.