Her office says the New York representative had gotten a booster shot last fall.
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced that she tested positive for COVID-19. She was the fourth member of congress over the weekend to announce a positive case of the virus.
The Hill reports that Congressional representatives Jim Cooper of Tennessee, Sean Casten of Illinois and California Congresswoman Young Kim all made announcements Saturday that they had tested positive.
Ocasio-Cortez’s office released a statement explaining that the congresswoman is experiencing symptoms and is recovering at home.
“The Congresswoman received her booster shot this Fall, and encourages everyone to get their booster and follow all CDC guidance,” Ocasio-Cortez’s office wrote.
The announcement of Ocasio-Cortez’s illness comes amid the U.S. dealing with a winter surge of COVID-19 infections. The seven-day average for new cases in the country topped 700,000 for the first time this weekend, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, The Hill reports.
According to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services, about 24% of US hospitals are reporting a “critical staffing shortage.”
Dr. Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University, told CNN on Saturday the next several weeks will “look bad in many American cities.”
“Forty hospitals in New York just canceled elective procedures. The DC Hospital Association, where I work, has asked the DC government for permission for hospitals to enact crisis standards of care,” he said. “And that’s coming to every city in the United States.”
