Yahoo Finance Republican representative tests Covid-positive after spending day in Congress trying to block Biden’s election victory
Jake LaTurner speaking after polls closed in Kansas on 4 November 2020
((41 Action News - YouTube))Republican congressman Jake LaTurner has revealed that he tested positive for Covid-19 after spending Wednesday participating in an unsuccessful effort to stop Congress from certifying President-elect Joe Biden’s election victory.
Mr LaTurner, 32, a newly-elected congressman from Kansas, was pulled out from the joint session in Congress to certify the Electoral College votes late on Wednesday, after testing positive for coronavirus, according to a statement posted on his official Twitter account.
“Late Wednesday evening, congressman Jake LaTurner received a positive test result for Covid-19,” the statement read on Thursday morning.
“Congressman LaTurner took the test as part of Washington DC’s travel guidelines that requires visitors be tested. He is not experiencing any symptoms at this time,” it added.
Late Wednesday evening, Congressman Jake LaTurner received a positive test result for COVID-19.
Congressman LaTurner took the test as part of Washington DC’s travel guidelines that requires visitors be tested. He is not experiencing any symptoms at this time.— Rep. Jake LaTurner (@RepLaTurner) January 7, 2021
Mr LaTurner was one of several Republican House representatives who voted on an objection to counting the electoral votes from Arizona on Wednesday, according to ABC Action.
The objection was not passed by members of either the House or the Senate, and the state’s electoral votes were later certified.
The congressman, who was sworn into office on Sunday, found out about his positive Covid-19 test just three hours after he voted on the objection.
After being told about his diagnosis, Mr LaTurner did not return to the floor. He revealed that he is taking the advice of the House physician and is not able to return to Congress until he has been cleared by a doctor.
Congressman LaTurner is following the advice of the House physician and CDC guidelines and, therefore, does not plan to return to the House floor for votes until he is cleared to do so.
— Rep. Jake LaTurner (@RepLaTurner) January 7, 2021
At the time that Mr LaTurner’s positive test was announced, some of his colleagues in the House were voting on an objection to counting the Electoral College votes in the state of Pennsylvania, according to ABC. The objection was unsuccessful and the state’s results were certified.
The certification of Mr Biden’s victory was disrupted on Wednesday, after a mob of pro-Trump rioters breached the Capitol and the building was locked down.
After several hours, members of Congress restarted the joint session between House and Senate representatives and Mr Biden’s presidential election victory was finalised, despite several unsuccessful objections to electoral votes.
Since the start of the pandemic, Kansas has recorded more than 240,000 coronavirus cases and at least 3,027 deaths.
According to Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 21.3 million people who have tested positive for the coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached 361,297.
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