Omicron And Delta Variants Land US Congress, Infected Members And Staff Continue To Increase Despite Vaccinations

Illustration of Capitol Hill in Washington DC, United States. (Wikimedia Commons/Architect of the Capitol)

JAKARTA - The United States Congress is experiencing an unprecedented increase in COVID-19 cases, with the seven-day positive rate at congressional test sites surging to 13 percent from just 1 percent at the end of November, doctors attending on Capitol Hill, Washington DC, said Monday. .

The vast majority of coronavirus infections on Capitol Hill have occurred among the vaccinated, with the Omicron variant representing about 61 percent and the Delta variant 38 percent, based on a limited sample on December 15, said Dr. Brian Monahan to MPs and staff in a letter dated January 3rd

The jump comes as the number of new COVID-19 cases in the United States has doubled in the past seven days, to an average of 418,000 per day, according to a Reuters tally as quoted on Jan. 4.

Monahan noted that the breakthrough infection among the vaccinated on Capitol Hill did not lead to hospitalization, serious complications or death, a fact he said demonstrates the importance of vaccination.

Nonetheless, the US Government has urged vaccinated Americans to get a booster and for the unvaccinated, who are at a much higher risk of developing severe and dying cases of COVID-19, to receive the vaccine immediately.

About 65 percent of COVID-19 cases in the Capitol are symptomatic, according to the letter. In other cases, people who have tested positive have not shown any symptoms.

It was planned that the Senate would return on Monday after the year-end holiday, but met only for a brief session due to a blizzard that also forced the Capitol testing ground to close early.

The attending physician did not ask for any changes to the existing requirement to wear a mask at the Capitol whenever someone else was present, though he advised members and staff to wear medical-grade masks rather than simple cloth ones.

He also urged congressional offices, committees and agencies to urgently review operations and adopt a "maximum remote working posture", to reduce in-person meetings and in-office activities.