More than 13% of the staff at the Capitol, including members of Congress, have currently tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a letter written to members of Congress and their staffs by the attending physician of the U.S. Congress, the Washington Post reports.
The attending physician, Brian P. Monahan, urged Congress to implement policies to cut down on the spread of the virus, including holding meetings remotely and having as much staff as possible work from home. Monahan also recommended upgrading the masking requirements in the Capitol to mandate use of KN95 or N95 facemasks, excluding cloth masks.
“The daily case rates will increase even more substantially in the coming weeks,” Monahan wrote. “These cases represent both a rising rate of ‘breakthrough infections’ among mostly previously vaccinated individuals and several unvaccinated individuals.”