Courtney returning to D.C. after virus
WASHINGTON — U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney will return to Capitol Hill on Wednesday after recovering from coronavirus and isolating at home.
“I’m glad to report that my doctor has officially cleared me to end quarantine and to resume work in person,” Courtney, D-2, said in a written statement Tuesday.
“My experience with COVID-19 was thankfully a relatively mild one, and my family and I are grateful that was the case.”
In an interview Tuesday afternoon, Courtney revealed he was exposed to the virus by another member of Congress, but declined to say who. He voted in the House chamber the day of his exposure, Nov. 16, he said.
Thirteen members of Congress tested positive for the virus in November, according to Gov Track, and four members publicly announced their positive tests the day of or day after Courtney was notified of his exposure by the House Physician’s Office, Nov. 17.
The House Physician’s Office told Courtney he had to isolate immediately, although he felt fine, Courtney said.
“I did not return to my apartment, where there are a lot of people around,” Courtney said. “I went to my office, slept there that night, went to the hotel room the next day by myself, stayed there for two days, was tested Thursday morning.
“The results came back middle of the day on Thursday negative, which was, you know, exciting news.”
His doctor then advised him to rent a car and drive home to Connecticut, which he did at 6 a.m.
Friday morning, Courtney said.
He arrived home to an empty house — his wife, Audrey, a nurse practitioner, planned it that way — and went straight to his room to isolate.
Courtney then developed mild symptoms and decided to get a second coronavirus test over the weekend. He learned he was COVID-19 positive on Sunday, Nov. 22.
“Clearly, I was infected on Thursday, when I tested negative, but as they explain to you, you’re not shedding for the first three or four days after exposure, even if you’re sick and you’ve been infected,” he said. “The test is about shedding the virus.”
Courtney spent three or four days with a fever, achy body and stuffy nose, he said. He occasionally had to use an inhaler for his breathing, he said. He worked from home during his quarantine.
Courtney’s wife and daughter never tested positive for the virus and do not believe they had it.
With coronavirus cases spiking across the country and after many Americans participated in holiday travel, Courtney warned people not to rely on one coronavirus test to determine whether they are safe from the virus. He advised people to watch their symptoms, too.
“Clearly getting a negative test is not the all clear,” Courtney said. “I thought I was all clear and was pretty excited about it, and obviously it came crashing down.”
Guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says individuals with COVID-19 can be around others after 10 days since their first symptoms appeared and 24 hours with no fever and their other virus symptoms are improving.
Courtney is the second member of the Connecticut congressional delegation to contract the virus, following U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-5, whose husband had the illness at a separate time from her.
Hayes contracted COVID-19 in September, after one of her staff members tested positive. Her office had phased in some inperson work around that time.
Courtney said his office has worked remotely since March, but some members of Congress have kept staff working in person for much of the pandemic.
“I think there is no excuse for members to have staff in their offices,” Courtney said. “The escalation of cases should make that even more of an imperative.
“I’m very glad that proxy voting was in place, and the resistance of some members to not use that as an option is ridiculous and the same is true of committee hybrid meetings. This kind of macho defiance of participating remotely is just ridiculous.”
At least 89 members have been quarantined, tested positive or came into contact with someone with COVID-19 since the pandemic began, according to Gov Track.
Courtney will return to Capitol Hill to continue negotiating the final version of a massive annual defense bill and vote on a new federal spending package, which must be passed this month. Courtney said Congress must find a way to pass more pandemic relief during the lame duck session, before the end of President Donald Trump’s term in January.