Texas Rep. Ron Wright dies at 67
AUSTIN, Texas – Texas Republican U.S. Rep. Ron Wright, who had battled health challenges over the past year including lung cancer treatment, has died more than two weeks after contracting COVID-19, his office said Monday. He was 67.
Wright died Sunday, spokesman Matt Langston said. He said he did not know the cause of death, but the twoterm congressman and his wife, Susan, had been admitted to a Dallas hospital in the previous two weeks after contracting COVID-19.
Wright announced in January that he had tested positive for the virus. He was also hospitalized last year for lung cancer complications.
“Despite years of painful, sometimes debilitating treatment for cancer, Ron never lacked the desire to get up and go to work, to motivate those around him, or to offer fatherly advice,” his office said in a statement.
Wright is the first sitting member of Congress to die after contracting COVID-19. In December, an incoming Republican representative, Luke Letlow of Louisiana, died of complications related to the virus only days before the 41-year-old would have been sworn in.
Wright had said he tested positive for the coronavirus after coming into contact with an infected person. He had described his early symptoms as minor and said he would quarantine.
The agency said on Twitter it has “provided transportation system operators specific guidance on how to report violations so that TSA may issue penalties to those who refuse to wear a face mask.”
The Transportation Security Administration announced it will recommend fines ranging from $250 to $1,500 for people who do not abide by the new transportation mask order issued by President Joe Biden on his second day in office.
The agency said it could also “seek a sanction amount that falls outside these ranges,” and noted in the announcement Friday that the higher fines would apply to repeat offenders.
Biden’s order requires people to wear masks in airports, bus and train terminals and on trains, planes, buses and public transportation.
The TSA has been charged with implementing Biden’s executive order and subsequent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mask-wearing rules that took affect Feb. 1 and built on the order.
Although the TSA is most commonly associated with airports, fines will apply to offenders across various transportation types. The agency said on Twitter it has “provided transportation system operators specific guidance on how to report violations so that TSA may issue penalties to those who refuse to wear a face mask.”
The CDC order exempts children under 2 years of age and people with a disability that makes it unsafe to wear a mask. The CDC said transportation operators can require medical documentation. Travelers will be allowed to remove masks while eating or drinking.
The CDC said some face coverings aren’t good enough to comply with the rule. The don’t-travel list includes face shields, bandannas, masks with exhalation valves and masks that don’t fit properly.