The Capitol's attending physician on Monday urged congressional offices to shift towards remote work due to a skyrocketing coronavirus positivity rate among staff.
Why it matters: The push comes as the highly infectious Omicron variant has caused a resurgence of the pandemic across the country.
- Coronavirus cases have "exploded throughout the USA" due mainly to Omicron and the "residual" Delta variant, attending physician Brian P. Monahan said in an alert to congressional offices.
What they're saying: "These variant viruses have caused an unprecedented number of cases in the Capitol community affecting hundreds of individuals," Monahan wrote.
- Monahan said the Capitol test center's seven-day positivity rate has risen from 1% to 13%.
- "Congressional offices, Committees, and Agencies should immediately review their operations to adopt a maximal telework posture to reduce in-person meetings and in-office activities to the maximum extent possible," Monahan wrote.
