US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham announced on Monday that he tested positive. Coronavirus disease Although he has been vaccinated, he will still have flu-like symptoms and will self-quarantine for 10 days.
“I’m glad I got the vaccine, because if I hadn’t been vaccinated, I’m sure I wouldn’t feel as good as I am now. My symptoms will be worse,” 66-year-old Graham wrote on Twitter.
The South Carolina Republican is a leader in conservatives in the Senate. He said he began to show flu-like symptoms on Saturday and sought medical attention on Monday morning. Later, a Congress doctor told him that his test result was positive.
Former President Donald Trump’s staunch ally, Graham, wrote in two tweets: “I think I have a sinus infection and my current symptoms are very mild.” “I’m going to be isolated for ten days.”
His announcement is at a critical moment in the severely divided Senate. Democratic leaders hope to pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill of approximately $1 trillion to advance President Joe Biden’s agenda in the coming weeks.
Graham is one of 17 Republicans in the Senate who supported bipartisan infrastructure legislation in a procedural vote. This measure requires a Republican vote to reach the 60-vote threshold required for most of the 100-seat legislation.
The Senate is split between Republicans and Democrats at a 50-50 ratio, and they control the House only because of Vice President Kamala Harris’s tiebreaker.
It is not clear how many recent contacts Graham has with other members of the Senate.
A spokesperson for Democratic Senator Joe Manchin could not confirm whether Graham attended Manchin’s recent private gathering, but added: “Senator Manchin has been fully vaccinated and follows the CDC’s guidelines for those exposed to COVID-positive individuals. Guidelines. “
Graham’s office did not respond to questions about the gathering.
Graham did not say whether he tested positive for the delta variant of the coronavirus, which was blamed on the recent surge in the number of infections in the United States, especially in southern states where vaccination rates are relatively low.
According to data from the Reuters COVID-19 Vaccination Tracker, 46% of South Carolina’s population has at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, which is well below the national average of 58%. (Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Paul Simao)
