Covid-19 has ravaged the U.S. Capitol in recent weeks, with the onsite testing center’s seven-day positivity rate jumping from 1 percent to greater than 13 percent, according to the Office of the Attending Physician.
“The coronavirus omicron variant of the SARS CoV2 coronavirus accounts for most coronavirus cases at the Capitol and elsewhere in the United States,” Dr. Brian Monahan, the attending physician of the Capitol, said in a letter obtained by NBC News.
Omicron accounts for 61 percent of current cases in Congress, according to the letter from the Office of the Attending Physician, with delta accounting for 38 percent of cases.
Of the current patients, 65 percent are symptomatic and 35 percent asymptomatic. The letter from Dr. Monahan warned that cases are expected to rise even further, as the spike is consistent with rising case numbers across the country.
The Capitol offers regular testing for lawmakers, congressional staff members, and the journalists who work there.
Politico is reporting that the Senate is set to return Tuesday for its first vote of the new year, while the House is scheduled to return next week after a weeks-long break.
Senate Democrats are expected to have their regular in-person lunches be virtual for at least this week, according to a Senate Democratic source.
The surge in cases of the Omicron variant is on everyone’s mind on Capitol Hill, since many offices in both parties are back to near-full capacity. Additionally, the dramatic rise in cases comes as many GOP offices in the House and Senate have had mask-optional policies for months.
Monahan advised Hill offices to reduce in-office meetings “to the maximum extent possible” during the omicron surge. Any indoor gathering, he said, should require “strict mask-wear compliance.”
