Representatives Mario Diaz-Balart and Ben McAdams today confirmed that they have been screened positive for COVID-19 and became the first congress members to do so since the declared outbreak of this pandemic.

Based on the Congressional Research Service, the average age of House members at the beginning of the 116th Congress has been 57.6 years, and the average age between many senators was 62.9 years. Most of the representatives were at the greatest risk for the infection in their ages of 70s and 80s.

A 58 year-old Florida Republican Diaz-Balart announced, which according to the message from his department, that he started to feel the symptoms on Saturday, which also include "fever and headache." He was advised that on Wednesday he screened positively for the new coronavirus-related disease COVID-19.

Representative McAdams revealed his condition on Twitter last Wednesday and even said "a fever, dry cough and labored breathing" developed before he was tested. He started adding that he was actively working from home despite his self-quarantine.

 

Because of the national advocacy that citizens should not be brought together in groups of 10 or even more, the Senate has been on recess with members back home in its districts. Both chambers are most likely to return in order to resume with working on measures to address the COVID-19 pandemic upon their arrival.

While the first Congress members to be given a diagnosis with the infection are Diaz-Balart and McAdams, a few others have been in their own quarantine in the recent days since their interaction with someone who is positive. Senator Ted Cruz and representatives Matt Gaetz and Doug Collin, who appears to have done so after they had come into contact with a person who has been diagnosed with the infection last month at the Conservative Political Action Conference. After the seminar, Gaetz and Collins went to meet President Donald Trump.

On Tuesday, Representative Jason Crow, one of the Democratic impeachment leaders, had declared that he was also quarantined after having interacted with an elected representative, who tested positively.

After having learned he had come into contact with a second person who tested positive, Cruz lengthened his initial self-quarantine. His containment had just ended on Tuesday.

Trump's top ally, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, also self-quarantined after having to interact with at least two people who have tested positive for the disease on Thursday, 12 March. On Sunday night, he confirmed on twitter that his evaluation had been negative.

Democratic Representative Julia Brownley was the very first self-quarantined member of the congress after she had an interaction with a positive person who isn't at the CPAC. Last week, Senator Rick Scott revealed that after contacting a member of the Brazillian committee who had tested positive he himself had also been quarantined.

According to Scott he said he didn't have symptoms and have had plentiful caution quarantining.

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez has already said that after having to meet with Bolsonaro, he contracted COVID-19, and Diaz-Balart was not the first influential politician in Florida to test positive for this disease.