U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes tests positive for Covid-19

U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes has announced she has tested positive for Covid-19.

Jahana Hayes
U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes at a town hall meeting at the Newtown Community Center. Photo by Kevin Zimmerman

The first-term Democrat representing Connecticut”™s 5th Congressional District posted on Facebook yesterday that she received the diagnosis after trying three times to get an appointment for a testing, and included a video where she received the nasal swab test in a medical drive-through setting.

“Contrary to popular belief, members of Congress do not get tested regularly,” she wrote on Facebook. “In fact we are not mass tested at all in DC.”

Hayes, who is the first member of the Connecticut congressional delegation to test positive for Covid-19, stated that she took “every possible precaution and still contracted the coronavirus,” adding that she will self-quarantine for the next 14 days.

“My experience and the experience of my staff underscores the need for a national testing strategy with a coherent way to receive speedy, accurate results,” she said. “This level of anxiety and uncertainty is untenable. I am asymptomatic, except for breathing issues which are being monitored. Please keep my family and my staff in your prayers.”