DeFazio and Blumenauer test positive for COVID-19

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Two Oregon congressmen have tested positive for COVID-19.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, 74, tweeted Thursday that he has tested positive for the virus.

“Thanks to being fully vaccinated, I am only experiencing mild cold-like symptoms and fatigue,” the Democrat said on social media. “I will follow CDC guidance and quarantine.”

In addition, KOIN-TV reports that Rep. Earl Blumenauer said on Friday he has tested positive for COVID-19.

“After waking up with sore throat and out of abundance of caution I took a COVID-19 test. That test came back positive,” the 73-year-old Democrat said in a release. “I am feeling well and experiencing only minor cold-like symptoms.”

Blumenauer also said that he would follow guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and that he would isolate.

The congressmen are two of several lawmakers that have announced positive COVID-19 test results, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi who tested positive for COVID-19 a day after appearing unmasked at a White House event with President Joe Biden.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine also tested positive late Thursday, shortly after the Senate voted to confirm Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.

The CDC says people vaccinated and boosted against COVID-19 are much less likely to suffer adverse outcomes, including serious illness and death, from the virus compared to those who are unvaccinated.