Cori Bush tests positive for COVID, working remotely

Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) said Wednesday she has tested positive for COVID-19 and will work remotely in the coming days as a potential government shutdown looms. 

“I have tested positive for COVID-19 & I am experiencing symptoms,” the St. Louis-based congresswoman wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

“Per CDC guidelines, I am in isolation. While I’m unable to be in-person for legislative business, I’m working remotely to continue delivering for St. Louis amidst a looming GOP-instigated government shutdown.”

Bush’s announcement comes a day after Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) shared she tested positive for COVID-19. 

“I tested positive for COVID this morning after developing mild symptoms Sunday night,” Smith said in an X post. “I’ll stay here in Minnesota while following CDC guidelines.” 

Congress has until Sept. 30 to avert a government shutdown, and divisions among House Republicans have left Congress without a clear path forward.

Since July, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations have been on the rise in the U.S., though numbers remain well below where they were during the peak of the pandemic. 

The Biden administration announced earlier this month that it will relaunch a program that allows residents to order free COVID-19 tests through the mail, preparing for a potential winter surge of cases. 

Under the program, the website Covidtests.gov will allow households to grab up to four COVID-19 testing kits, which are intended for use at the end of the year.

The U.S. also began its latest commercial rollout of COVID-19 vaccines last week after the approval of updated vaccines that are effective on the latest strains of the virus.