Coronavirus-infected Rep. Ben McAdams ‘concerned’ for 400 members in Congress

Infected Rep. Ben McAdams said Thursday that his coronavirus symptoms were initially dismissed by his doctor — and he fears for the almost 400 members of Congress who were with him in the House just hours before he fell sick.

“I’m feeling pretty bad. I think this is probably the worst cold I’ve ever had,” McAdams, 45, one of two reps who were in Congress Saturday to have since tested positive, told the “Today” show from his home Thursday.

McAdams said he started feeling sick Saturday afternoon after returning home to Salt Lake City from Washington, DC, where he had voted on the Coronavirus Response Act.

“I contacted a doctor who said that my symptoms didn’t justify testing, when I had a temperature of about 100 and a cough,” said the rep.

The Democrat said his condition “really took a turn for the worse” from late Monday.

“I had a temperature of about 103 and my lungs were really constricted — it felt like I had a belt around my chest,” he said.

His doctor then arranged for him to get tested, with coronavirus confirmed on Wednesday.

“We were social distancing — now it’s a full-on quarantine,” he said of his wife and four kids. “We’re not leaving the house for anything.”

McAdams said he was “concerned” for the approximately 400 members of Congress who were with him and fellow infected Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart on Saturday morning, just hours before they felt sick.

“Anyone who had close contact with me from Friday onward should be concerned and should probably take precautions,” he said.

He has been told that when he walked on the House floor to vote, it “probably [didn’t] qualify as a risk.”

“But members with whom I had close contact — yeah, there’s a concern there,” he said.

“Remote voting is not currently allowed under House rule — I think we ought to consider changing that,” he said, noting it was a time declared as a national emergency.

He also raised concerns that delays in testing could leave too many people heading out into society unaware they are putting others at risk.

“There were times when I felt sick, and there were times when I felt better, and I could imagine somebody having the temptation to get out and go to work,” he said, saying quick testing is needed to ensure people “more rigorously adhere to the quarantine.”

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