Jenniffer Gonzalez, Puerto Rico's nonvoting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives, said she has tested positive for COVID-19 and acknowledged that she should have practiced social distancing during the island's gubernatorial primary election this month.
In a message posted on her Facebook page, Gonzalez said she might have caught the virus at the Aug. 16 victory party for Pedro Pierluisi, the candidate she is backing for the Nov. 3 governor's race.
"Believe me, I use hand sanitizer, I wash my hands with alcohol, I wear a face mask, but one of the most important things is social distancing," she said in a video. "It was an error on my part to have been in an enclosed space on Sunday where there were a lot of people and we couldn't control who might be infected and who wasn't."
Last week, Pierluisi said he had tested negative for the virus, but several other politicians _ including Puerto Rico local Rep. Carlos Johnny Mendez _ have tested positive.
Gonzalez, who splits her time between Washington and Puerto Rico, was scheduled to be on the island this week with Jim Carroll, the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Gonzalez said she is asymptomatic but will isolate herself for two weeks.
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