Rep. Jahana Hayes announces she has tested positive for Covid-19

[George II]

Source: CNN

4:55 PM ET, Sun September 20, 2020

(CNN)Rep. Jahana Hayes, a Democrat from Connecticut, announced on Sunday she has tested positive for Covid-19.

In a series of tweets, which included a video of her being tested, Hayes noted that members of Congress are not frequently being tested for coronavirus. "Masks, social distancing & frequent floor cleanings are the precautions that are taken in the House. I have taken every possible precaution and still contracted coronavirus," she wrote.

"My experience and the experience of my staff underscore the need for a nat'l testing strategy with a coherent way to receive speedy, accurate results. This level of anxiety and uncertainty is untenable," Hayes wrote.

The Democratic freshman, who is just the latest member of Congress to test positive, said she will quarantine for 14 days.

Hayes is one of at least 12 other House members from both parties who have previously announced that they had tested positive for coronavirus dating back to the early days of the pandemic. Dozens more lawmakers have had to quarantine or get tested due to exposure to the virus.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/20/politics/jahana-hayes-coronavirus/index.html

---

This is her second time, but she's still plugging away at home, doing her job in a low key, but highly effective manner.

[soothsayer]

1. Hopefully another false positive?

[SunSeeker]

2. What do you mean by "this is her second time"? She had Covid-19 before?

[BumRushDaShow]

3. I had to go searching around but found an article - her husband had tested positive back in April

COVID-19 Hits Home for Rep. Jahana Hayes
Submitted by johnmurray on Thu, 04/30/2020 - 10:58



This morning, Congresswoman Hayes released the following statement:

“This week, my husband, a first responder in the City of Waterbury was exposed to and tested positive for COVID-19 at his workplace. I am incredibly grateful that at this time he seems to be healthy and asymptomatic. Given my exposure, I was also tested and it was thankfully negative. Out of an abundance of caution, and in keeping in line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control, my family and I will be quarantining at home for the next 14 days and self-monitoring for symptoms. I will continue working remotely, talking with constituents and community leaders, and communicating daily with colleagues as we work on the next relief package to combat the health and economic crisis that our country is in.

“While some are clamoring to return to Washington to conduct in-person business, this test result in my own family has reinforced that we still have a ways to go – and there is still real danger in a premature return to regular order for Congress and the country, without appropriate precautions. This test result highlights that COVID-19 does not discriminate and presents in many forms – it has and will touch every family in some way. But it also underscores that workers who have been deemed “essential” – whether they are keeping our streets safe, stocking grocery shelves, or producing the food to feed us – are inherently at a greater risk of contracting this deadly virus. Every day I am in awe of the courage of these Americans – who are doing their part to help their neighbors. Never has the need to support these individuals with workplace protections, living wages, and benefits been more clear. No one should have to choose between going to work sick or being able to put food on the table. This is a reminder that we should continue to stay home for these frontline workers, so that they are able to do their jobs without being unnecessarily put at risk.

“I urge everyone to continue to follow CDC guidance, continue to stay home, and continue to socially distance and wash your hands frequently. I am so proud of how my community and my state have responded to this unprecedented crisis. I am humbled by the unity, strength and resilience that I have seen firsthand. No matter what happens, we will get through this. And we will do it by working together, and supporting each other. “As always, my staff and I remain here to help and will continue to fight for Connecticut’s Fifth District. I pray for the safety of you and your families.”

Rep. Jahana Hayes has been a public school teacher in Connecticut for more than 15 years and was recognized in 2016 as the National Teacher of the Year. Currently serving her first term in the U.S. House of Representatives, Rep. Hayes sits on the Committees on Education & Labor and Agriculture and proudly represents Connecticut’s 5th District.


http://www.waterburyobserver.org/wod7/covid-19-hits-home-rep-jahana-hayes

What sadly bothers me is this remark in one of her tweets -

Link to tweet

TEXT

Jahana Hayes
@RepJahanaHayes
·
Sep 20, 2020
Replying to @RepJahanaHayes
Contrary to popular belief, MOC do not get tested regularly. In fact we are not mass tested at all in DC. Masks, social distancing & frequent floor cleanings are the precautions that are taken in the House. I have taken every possible precaution and still contracted coronavirus.

Jahana Hayes
@RepJahanaHayes
My experience and the experience of my staff underscore the need for a nat’l testing strategy with a coherent way to receive speedy, accurate results. This level of anxiety and uncertainty is untenable. I am asymptomatic, except for breathing issues which are being monitored.
10:53 AM · Sep 20, 2020

"Breathing issues" ARE one of the "symptoms", so she is NOT "asymptomatic" and we as a society need to do better with conveying what "asymptomatic" means. It seems that the only thing the mass population considers a "symptom" nowadays is a "fever".

[Cha]

4. RtX2 TY BRDS

[BumRushDaShow]

5. Good morning Cha

We have such a long way to go before people really do make this a "new normal" and medical providers/epidemiologists are going to have to really monitor the long-term effects of contracting this disease because more and more, it appears that the word "recovered" is a misnomer. Even though the PCR tests may show "negatives" after a period of time, the damage is already done. And whether someone's damaged cells can heal from the exposure (or not), is going to be all over the map depending on age, previous medical condition, and other factors.

In other words, to use the famous Inigo Montoya quote applied to the word "recovered" -

[Cha]

6. Good Morning to you, BRDS..

Mahalo for pointing all that out. As has been said again and again.. It didn't have to be this bad if trump hadn't have Lied to the American People to protect his so called ratings.. and subsequently do everything possible to spread it

"Inconceivable!!"

[BumRushDaShow]

7. It's all part of 45's order to "do the opposite" of what the "Obama party" tells people to do

[Cha]

8. Yeah, we've seen how far that's gotten him..

I can't imagine Putin approves of the stupidity of his COVID response.. anyone with two brain cells to rub together would see that would Backfire

[SunSeeker]

10. And how long has she had "breathing issues"? Since April when her husband brought it home?

[moriah]

14. Agreed, but a lot of us have "breathing issues" without COVID.

So for us, the only way to know if our cough is allergies, asthma, etc, IS that fever.

It's why I in particular wear a mask even in drive-thus. If I were lucky enough to only get a mild case if I caught it, one that did not cause a fever spike, I wouldn't be able to tell it from a seasonal allergy/asthma exacerbation. (I also do my nebulizer treatments in a closed room in my house, and leave the room closed for 30 minutes after except for a vent fan -- my albuterol nebulizer is good about not spewing most of the medicine out vs getting it into my lungs, but it IS creating a cloud of aerosol).

I do worry about those that do not necessarily spike a fever, but start getting lower respiratory symptoms and try to write them off as colds/normal everyday crud, and avoid medical care either because they can't afford it or don't want to get nosocomial COVID on top of what they think is "just the crud". The mammogram tech who died while at home with her small child may have had a fever with her symptoms, but for whatever reason did not seek medical care until it was too late for her to get to a phone and make a call.

As we've learned from cops believing the old adage "if you can talk, you can breathe" and that turning out to not be entirely accurate... when you can't talk, it's too late to do anything about not being able to breathe adequately. Especially if you are at home, alone.

I've had enough doctors chew me up one side and down the other for delaying my ER or urgent care visits until the point that I really should have called an ambulance instead. I should know better and have still thought that I didn't need emergency care when I did. And I don't know who is going to be more likely to make that mistake -- a person with breathing issues they feel are everyday and so "no big deal", or a person who doesn't think breathing issues would ever get serious because they have good lungs so try to tough it out.

[BumRushDaShow]

15. The issue I had with her statement

(and as a disclaimer - I have had asthma on and off since I was a kid and have an as-needed albuterol inhaler and one of my nieces has a nebulizer)

--is her statement of being "asymptomatic except for... <fill in a common symptom>" knowing that she has tested positive. I.e., she is experiencing a known symptom of COVID-19 which is different from someone who might be having an exacerbation (I have been there done that and IV steroids really do help). I would prefer seeing the use of a term like "mildly symptomatic" rather than claim to be "asymptomatic", which it seems the media has insinuated to the public means "no symptoms at all" (because you're not being carried out of the house on a stretcher and shoved into an ambulance).

The scarier thing about COVID-19 is that the symptoms cut across many of the major organs of the body, where in some cases the lung issues become the last thing it impacts. Depending on the viral load, your own body's biology, and where the entry point is and where the landing points are when the virus gets inside, the virus could end up in your digestive tract, causing one of the common symptoms of what my family calls "double bucket" (nausea, vomiting, diarrhea). Or it could end up on your kidneys (in extreme cases, causing kidney failure).

At this point, I think that anyone who is "out and about" (whether by requirement like a public official or frontline worker) or by choice (because they are "bored at home" ), they need to re-calibrate their idea of how bad this thing can be and how it can be spread.

[George II]

9. She tested positive a while back. So far in neither case has she shown symptoms, however.

[LisaL]

11. She has breathing issues.

So I wouldn't call that asymptomatic.
So is this the second time she got infected? Did she ever tested positive back in April?

[SunSeeker]

12. It sounds to me like she is a "long hauler"--someone who has it for months.

Link to tweet

Whether she realizes it or not, difficulty breathing is a Covid-19 symptom. It's one of the most common symptoms.

I wouldn't be surprised if she has had it since April, when her husband brought it home. "Long haulers" have it for months.

[LisaL]

13. Her staffer tested positive for covid very recently.

So she likely got infected by the staffer recently.

[BumRushDaShow]

16. In her statement from back in April that I posted upthread and linked to, she claimed this --

(posted here - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142586015#post3)

“This week, my husband, a first responder in the City of Waterbury was exposed to and tested positive for COVID-19 at his workplace. I am incredibly grateful that at this time he seems to be healthy and asymptomatic. Given my exposure, I was also tested and it was thankfully negative.

So at least in that initial case, she tested "negative" after finding her husband had tested positive.

[George II]

17. Interesting. All the television news reports around here was that she tested positive, too....

Guess that got lost in the translation, or they assumed the worst. This is good to know.

As I said somewhere else here, too bad I don't live a few miles west of here, she'd be my Congresswoman. I love her attitude and the job she's doing.

[BumRushDaShow]

18. Well if she had, then they wouldn't continue pooh-poohing the possibility of people being reinfected

It's possible that she had a later test for antibodies and that is what came out "positive" despite a negative PCR test.

I do believe that people can get it again, but I think it hasn't been around long enough for researchers to determine the approximate level of "temporary immunity" that one might get before any antibodies faded away. We are probably starting to reach that point now and may start seeing more instances of repeat infections from people who were infected early in the year (assuming the person is not doing any mitigation steps).