“Out of respect for my family, and those who I may have exposed, I chose to keep my positive case private. Now that I have fully recovered and completed the quarantine as required by the Department of Health..."
"I feel now is the appropriate time to share this information with the public and my constituents and I look forward to being a resource in sharing my experiences with COVID-19 and helping our community navigate this crisis together."
In a phone call, Rep. Russ Diamond, R-Lebanon, tells me he is currently quarantining due to potential exposure to Lewis on May 14 — his last day in the Capitol. He has NOT been tested however.
Diamond's last day in the Capitol was May 21, when he testified at a hearing for his bill to end Gov. Tom Wolf's pandemic emergency. Diamond was informed by House HR that he was in contact with Lewis later that day.
I deleted a tweet earlier in this thread that listed May 11 as a date for Lewis's test. That is inaccurate. he was tested on May 18, and found positive on May 20. His last day in Capitol was May 14.
As of Thursday morning, another lawmaker has said they are in quarantine for a total of three impacted by the virus. More details here:
penncapital-star.com/covid-19/covid…
penncapital-star.com/covid-19/covid…
A fourth lawmaker, who sits near Lewis and the other two lawmakers in quarantine, said they were not in the Capitol because they were recovering from knee surgery, not due to coronavirus.
Worth noting, at least two House GOP lawmakers have told me they did not hear about Lewis' diagnosis before yesterday. This indicates that while information was withheld, I cannot say that their is evidence that was done in a partisan fashion.
House GOP Spokesperson Mike Straub is claiming that due to HIPAA, the caucus could not reveal information beyond those being traced because "the employer cannot reveal employee’s identity, or information that would lead to the person being easily identifiable."
Wrong there. Writing is hard.
.@zwhoopes with the same reporting on rank-and-file GOP lawmakers
Re: Republicans not knowing. A Sunbury radio station interviewed Rep. Lynda Schlegel Culver, a rank-and-file Republican from the upper Susquehanna Valley.
"I think we need to take a moment, pause, find out what’s going on and lets act appropriately.” wkok.com/state-house-cu…
"I think we need to take a moment, pause, find out what’s going on and lets act appropriately.” wkok.com/state-house-cu…
“I don’t know what leadership did know or didn’t know, that remains to be seen, as we go through this week ... We do have the ability to work remotely and I think today’s going to be an interesting day for us to figure out what happened, how it happened.”
Update: In an email, House Democratic spokesperson Bill Patton says that Democrats will introduce chamber rule changes to require that masks be "worn at all times in the Capitol" and require notification to everyone if a House member gets a positive COVID result.
Democrats, Patton said, believe such a policy "can be designed not to violate any confidentiality law. Exact language is still being developed."
On the House Floor: Rep. Kevin Boyle, D-Philadelphia, for the body to adjourn and agree to a bipartisan plan for testing, tracing and disclosures of results before returning on June 8.
House Majority Leader Bryan Cutler, who heads the GOP caucus, including it's HR operations, is about to speak. Watch here. pahousegop.com/livestreams
"Private health information is just that - private," Cutler says. He pauses. Boos from the House floor.
Cutler reads from HIPAA, citing the same passage that Straub cited to me — the House cannot reveal identifying information. Unsaid is how to reveal info while not identifying. Some workplaces are doing that, and an expert I talked to said there is a balance between the two.
"We recognize that theres always the possibility to improvement, but we recognize that we have individual rights, that can be only be waived by the individual," Cutler adds.
Rep. Brian Sims, D-Philly, agrees with Cutler that there are a number of "half truths and no truths" right now, but that's because "there's been no truth" so far.
Sims says that with Lewis sick by May 18, he's worried that Lewis may have gotten other lawmakers sick during an incubation period of between 2 to 14 days before Lewis experienced symptoms. House has been tracing people in touch with Lewis 48 hours before his last day in Capitol.
Mike Turzai says he was NOT informed of the COVID-19 diagnosis.
Apologies — 48 hours before he became symptomatic.
By a vote of 92 to 110, the House will stay in session. Every Republican, plus Democratic Rep. Anita Kulik, of Allegheny County, vote to stay in session. Every other Democrat opposes. legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/R…
Turzai says that he would self-disclose if he tested positive for COVID-19. He asks other lawmakers to, and says he would back a rule change to force lawmakers to do so.
