Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) tested positive for COVID-19 during a routine screening for the virus, his office said Sunday.
“As a part of his regular testing regimen, Leader Schumer received a positive test result for COVID-19,” his spokesman, Justin Goodman, said in a statement. “The Leader is fully vaccinated and double boosted, and has very mild symptoms. He greatly appreciates the protection the vaccine has provided him and encourages everyone to test regularly and get vaccinated and boosted.”
Schumer’s office stressed the lawmaker would continue to work remotely while quarantining this week.
“Anyone who knows Leader Schumer knows that even if he’s not physically in the Capitol, through virtual meetings and his trademark flip phone he will continue with his robust schedule and remain in near-constant contact with his colleagues,” Goodman said.
The lawmakers’ infection comes amid a renewed wave of infections in the United States linked to the Omicron subvariant BA.5. That strain is highly capable of evading the body’s defenses linked to immunity from previous infections or vaccination.
The CDC has reported about 100,000 new cases a day on average over the past week, but the true number may be much higher due to the prevalence of at-home testing or the lack of testing at all.
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