Texas Democrats will no longer release a daily COVID-19 case count after six state lawmakers contracted COVID-19, said a spokeswoman for the state party.
Cara Santucci, the spokeswoman for the Texas House Democrats, confirmed to NBC News the sixth COVID-19 case among the delegation and told the news outlet state Democrats will no longer release a daily case count.
“We’re focusing on our daily testing, following and going beyond [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] guidelines, social distancing, and wearing masks as much as possible. We’re just not going to release daily counts,” Santucci said. It’s unclear if the NBC News reporter asked a follow-up question about the reason why.
Santucci did not provide an explanation for ending updates regarding their daily case count. The Epoch Times has reached out to the Texas House Democrats for comment.
One Texas Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Gene Wu, admitted that the caucus “got sloppy” when they traveled in a privately chartered plane to Washington D.C. last week, posting a photo of the group without masks on.
“Let our mistake be the object lesson. All of us had been fully vaccinated since March. We got complacent because we felt safe. We had no positives for months, and we got sloppy. Being vaccinated doesn’t ALWAYS stop you from spreading the virus. ALWAYS MASK UP INDOORS!” he wrote in a tweet alongside the photo.
On Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-Calif.) office confirmed that a Pelosi aide, who is fully vaccinated, contracted COVID-19 after having contact with members of the Texas House delegation last week. Pelosi, according to media photos, was seen meeting with Texas Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer—who later confirmed he tested positive for the virus—outside Capitol Hill several days ago.
Texas Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, one of the five Texas House Democrats who have tested positive for COVID-19, is seen on Capitol Hill with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) (C) in Washington on July 13, 2021. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
“This individual has had no contact with the Speaker since exposure. The entire Press Office is working remotely today with the exception of individuals who have had no exposure to the individual or have had a recent negative test. Our office will continue to follow the guidance of the Office of Attending Physician closely,” Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill told news outlets.
And a White House official also contracted the virus, confirmed White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday. The unnamed individual currently has mild COVID-19 symptoms, she added.
Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris was seen meeting with the Democrat delegation a few days ago. Her spokesperson Simone Sanders said Harris will not undergo quarantine.
The reason why no quarantining is needed, Sanders added on Saturday, is because health officials “determined the Vice President and her staff present at the meeting were not at risk of exposure because they were not in close contact with those who tested positive and therefore do not need to be tested or quarantined.”
Texas Democrats said they left the state because they wanted to deny Republicans quorum to prevent the passage of a voting overhaul bill—in a move praised by top Democrats like Harris, Pelosi, and President Joe Biden. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and other top state officials, however, have said the delegation will be arrested and detained upon arriving back to the Lone Star State.
COVID-19 is the disease caused by the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus.
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