5/28/2020
By Ivan Pereira
Democratic state leaders in Pennsylvania are accusing GOP counterparts of endangering everyone at the statehouse after a representative, who’d attended meetings, announced he tested positive for the coronavirus.
Rep. Andrew Lewis, who represents Dauphin County, revealed on Wednesday he tested positive for COVID-19 on May 20 after he experienced flu-like symptoms two days earlier.
“I immediately began self-isolation protocol and contacted the House of Representatives, and our caucus Human Resources department. My last day in the Capitol was Thursday, May 14,” Lewis said in a statement.
Two other Republicans, Rep. Russ Diamond and Rep. Frank Ryan, announced on their Facebook pages Wednesday they went into self-isolation after they were informed by human resources that they came in contact with someone who tested positive at the Capitol. Neither leader said they’re experiencing any symptoms.
Neither Diamond nor Ryan, who have been videotaped not wearing face coverings in recent hearings, revealed who that person was, but they did say the contact happened on around May 14. Diamond said he was notified on May 21, the same day he attended a legislative hearing.
Lewis, Diamond and Ryan were reportedly seen sitting close to each other during recent hearings in the Capitol.
The Pennsylvania state Democrats said they and some Republicans were not informed about Lewis’s diagnosis until recently, and they’re accusing the house GOP of covering up his condition.
“If he truly cared about the well-being of those he may have exposed, he should have been transparent from day one,” Pennsylvania Democratic Party spokesman Brendan Welch said in a statement.
Lewis said that he chose to reveal his diagnosis this week because he felt it was the appropriate time.
“Out of respect for my family, and those who I may have exposed, I chose to keep my positive case private,” he said in a statement.
Welch said the representative’s explanation made no sense and called for him to be replaced.
The Pennsylvania GOP didn’t immediately return messages from ABC News asking for comment.
Dauphin, Pennsylvania, currently has 1,174 coronavirus cases and 66 related deaths, according to the state’s health department.
