Mario Diaz-Balart is the first US lawmaker with a confirmed case of Covid-19. The Florida Republican self-quarantined last week, developing symptoms just after a House floor vote.
“I want everyone to know that I am feeling much better,” Diaz-Balart said in a statement on Wednesday, confirming his diagnosis and urging everyone to take the disease “extremely seriously.”
He said he entered self-quarantine on Friday out of abundance of caution and stayed in Washington rather than return to South Florida, because that would put his wife at risk due to her pre-existing conditions. Diaz-Balart developed symptoms on Saturday, including fever and a headache, and was notified on Wednesday that he was indeed infected by the novel coronavirus.
Several other US lawmakers have self-quarantined as a precaution since a Covid-19 carrier was reported to have attended the CPAC conference last month, but so far all of their tests have come back negative.
