Harris wasn’t in close contact with Texas Democrats and won’t quarantine: aide

Vice President Harris and her staff do not have to quarantine or be tested for COVID-19 because they were not in close contact during a meeting with Democratic Texas lawmakers who later tested positive for the virus, according to her spokeswoman.

“On Tuesday, July 13th, Vice President Harris met with members of the Texas state legislature who are temporarily in Washington, D.C.,” Symone Sanders, Harris’s senior adviser and chief spokesperson, said in a statement late Saturday.

“Earlier today, it was brought to our attention that two of the members at that meeting tested positive for COVID-19. Based on the timeline of these positive tests, it was determined the Vice President and her staff present at the meeting were not at risk of exposure because they were not in close contact with those who tested positive and therefore do not need to be tested or quarantined. The Vice President and her staff are fully vaccinated,” Sanders added.

Three of the Texas House Democrats who traveled to Washington, D.C., on Monday to block the passage of a sweeping elections overhaul bill in their home state tested positive for COVID-19.

The Texas Democrats revealed in a statement on Saturday that one member tested positive for COVID-19 late Friday and that two others received positive results on Saturday morning. 

The caucus did not name the three members who tested positive, but it did note that all three lawmakers were fully vaccinated.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that people who have been exposed to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 do not have to quarantine if they are fully vaccinated and are not showing symptoms. They should, however, monitor for symptoms for 14 days after the exposure.

The Texas Democrats also met with Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

Schumer’s office told The Hill that it “was informed that none of the fully vaccinated members who tested positive were in contact with our office.”

Manchin “was not exposed to any member who tested positive,” an aide to the West Virginia Democrat told The Hill.

The Texas state Senate passed the elections legislation on Tuesday, one day after the Democratic lawmakers fled the state for the nation’s capital.

The bill includes measures to place new limits on early voting and curbside voting, to ban round-the-clock voting centers and to end straight-ticket voting.

Updated at 11:52 a.m.