Doctor to Congress urges telework amid virus spike at Capitol
WASHINGTON — Congress’ top doctor urged lawmakers Monday to move to a “maximal telework posture,” citing “unprecedented” numbers of COVID19 cases at the Capitol that he said are mostly breakthrough infections of people already vaccinated.
The seven-day average rate of infection at the Capitol’s testing center has grown from less than 1% to more than 13%, Brian P. Monahan, the attending physician, wrote in a letter to congressional leaders.
Monahan said there have been “an unprecedented number of cases in the Capitol community affecting hundreds of individuals.”
Citing what he said was limited sampling as of Dec. 15, he said about 61% of the cases were the new, highly contagious omicron variant while 38% were the delta variant.
While providing no figure, he said “most” cases at the Capitol are breakthroughs. Of those testing positive, 35% are asymptomatic, he said.
Monahan’s letter came as the worldwide spread of the omicron variant has prompted a deluge of COVID-19 cases, now averaging 400,000 reported new infections in the U.S. daily.
“The daily case rates will increase even more substantially in the coming weeks,” Monahan warned.
Congress has been in recess since mid-December. The Senate returned Monday and held an abbreviated 17-minute session, but postponed a scheduled vote after Washington was hit by several inches of snow. The House is not due to return to the Capitol until next week.
Monahan urged congressional offices and agencies — which employ thousands of food service, custodial and other workers who serve Congress — to reduce in-person activities “to the maximum extent possible” by using electronic communications instead.
Currently, the House requires lawmakers and aides to wear masks in the House chamber except when they’ve been recognized to speak and in most other settings in the Capitol and House office buildings. The Senate encourages mask wearing but doesn’t require it.
Lawmakers can be fined up to $2,500 each time they don’t wear a mask on the House floor.
Apple’s valuation: Combine Walmart, Disney, Netflix, Nike, Exxon Mobil, CocaCola, Comcast, Morgan Stanley, McDonald’s, AT&T, Goldman Sachs, Boeing, IBM and Ford.
Apple is still worth more. Apple, the computer company that started in a California garage in 1976, is now worth $3 trillion. It became the first publicly traded company to ever reach the figure Monday, when its stock briefly eclipsed $182.86 a share before closing at $182.01.
Apple’s value is even more remarkable considering how rapid its recent ascent has been.
In August 2018, Apple became the first American company ever to be worth $1 trillion, an achievement that took 42 years. It surged past $2 trillion two years later. Its next trillion took 16 months and 15 days.
Facebook on Monday suspended for 24 hours the account of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for spreading misinformation about the coronavirus, a day after Twitter permanently banned one of her
Facebook on Greene:
accounts for posting a similar message.
Greene, R-Ga., had posted falsely about “extremely high amounts of Covid vaccine deaths.” She published the message on Saturday as part of a long post on American life “Before Covid” and “After Covid,” calling public health measures meant to stem the spread of the coronavirus into question, including testing, mask-wearing and vaccine mandates.
On Monday morning, on the alternative social messaging platform Telegram, Greene posted a screenshot of a Facebook notice that said, “You can’t post or comment for 24 hours,” and cited a violation of Facebook’s community standards.
“A post violated our policies and we have removed it, but removing her account for this violation is beyond the scope of our policies,” Aaron Simpson, a Facebook spokesman, said in a statement.
The social network has increasingly changed its content policies over past two years as the coronavirus has surged, saying in December 2020 that it would remove posts with claims that had been debunked by the World Health Organization or government agencies.
Facebook suspended Greene’s personal Facebook account, where she had published the message about vaccines. The company left her verified government account active. Twitter, which said it had banned Greene’s personal account after she had a fifth “strike,” also left her government account active.
Capitol honor: The late Sen. Harry Reid, the Nevada Democrat who served as majority leader during a 30-year career in the Senate, will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda next week.
The leaders of Congress, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader
Chuck Schumer, said in a statement Sunday night that ceremonies honoring Reid at the Capitol will take place Jan. 12.
Reid, 82, died Dec. 28 at his home in Henderson, Nevada, after battling pancreatic cancer.
In Brazilian hospital: President Jair Bolsonaro was taken to a Sao Paulo hospital for tests early Monday after experiencing abdominal discomfort, the government said in a statement.
The hospital where he was admitted, Vila Nova Star, said the president had an intestinal obstruction and was in stable condition.
Bolsonaro posted a photo of himself on Twitter in the hospital bed, giving a thumbs-up. He wrote that more tests will be done for a possible surgery. Bolsonaro, 66, has experienced a series of medical issues and underwent several surgeries since he was stabbed in the abdomen on the campaign trail in 2018.
Israeli helicopter crash: Two Israeli pilots were killed when a navy helicopter crashed off Israel’s Mediterranean coast late Monday near the northern city of Haifa, the Israeli military announced.
The helicopter was conducting a training flight when it crashed. A third crew member, an aerial observer, was moderately injured and evacuated to a hospital, the military said early Tuesday. “After extensive resuscitation efforts, the two pilots were declared dead.”
The cause of the crash was under investigation.
The chief of the Israeli Air Force has ordered immediate suspension of all training flights and the use of helicopters from the same array of the doomed aircraft.
The families of the pilots have been notified.
“The IDF expresses its heartfelt condolences to the families and will continue to support them,” the statement said.