A Texas Democrat pictured prominently without a mask on a private jet last week fleeing to Washington, D.C. is now calling for universal face coverings regardless of vaccination status after she and five others in the group tested positive for COVID-19.
'We need to follow the science here,' Texas Representative Donna Howard tweeted Wednesday. 'Texas needs to change course and allow for universal mask-wearing to prevent spread of the highly contagious delta variant, esp as children under 12 cannot get vaccinated yet.'
Another one of the runaway Democrats announced Tuesday she is running for Congress against Republican incumbent Beth Van Duyne, who represents congressional district 24, which falls between Dallas and Fort Worth.
Texas State Representative Michelle Beckley released a video from her $200-per-night hotel room in the nation's capital where she called herself 'brave' for fleeing Texas to stop Republicans' from passing two voter rights bills.
'My name is Michelle Beckley. I'm one of the brave Texas Democrats who came to D.C. to fight for voting rights in my state. Now, I'm fighting to flip a seat held by an anti-democracy Republican,' she tweeted Wednesday after releasing her campaign video.
She then urged more people to follow her: 'I have 28,500. Can you help us get to 50,000 followers?'
Van Duyne responded on Fox News on Wednesday.
'Democracy is actually, when you get elected, showing up and doing your job,' she said. 'I think democracy is if you are an elected official you have to show up.'
She added: 'When you are an empty seat, they have no voice. I'm up here in Washington right now, doing my job.'
It's estimated the cost to keep the few dozen lawmakers in D.C. through the special legislative session, which ends August 7, sits around $1.5 million, according to one of the Texas Democrats.
Howard and the around 60 other runaways did not mask up for the trip on their private jets chartered at $100,000 – despite Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommending people still mask up on planes, trains and buses.
Texas State Rep. Donna Howard is now calling for the Lone Star State to mandate masks regardless of vaccination status after six in her group of runaway Democrats tested positive for coronavirus
Howard (pictured left) was among the group of around 60 Texas Democratic lawmakers last Monday who fled from Austin to Washington D.C. on two private jets chartered at $100,000 – none wearing masks
Another Texas Democrat, Michelle Beckley, posted a video Tuesday announcing she is running for Congress in Texas' 24th district, which is currently represented by Republican Representative Beth Van Duyne
On Friday, one lawmaker tested positive for coronavirus, followed by two more on Saturday morning. When the weekend was through, a total of six lawmakers had tested positive for coronavirus.
All six, the Texas Democratic caucus said, were vaccinated.
Howard, who's state district is in Austin, was the sixth and latest to test positive. She is a former nurse who helped determine safety protocols for lawmakers after an initial COVID-19 case was reported on Friday.
Following the positive test on Monday, Howard said she is 'basically asymptomatic' and plans to isolate.
'Despite following CDC guidelines and being fully vaccinated, I tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday,' she said in a statement. 'The delta variant seems to be much more contagious, even for those vaccinated, than initially thought.'
'Thankfully, I'm vaccinated and feeling well,' she added. 'But this variant is hitting the unvaccinated with severe illness and hospitalizations, particularly impacting those under 65. Vaccines work. Everyone, please get vaccinated and protect yourselves.'
Before the diagnoses, the group met with several lawmakers on Capitol Hill, as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, upon arriving in Washington, D.C. last week.
'Let our mistake be the object lesson,' Texas Representative Gene Wu tweeted on Monday.
'All of us had been fully vaccinated since March. We got complacent because we felt safe. We had no positives for months, and we got sloppy,' he continued. 'Being vaccinated doesn't ALWAYS stop you from spreading the virus.'
Wu asserted: 'ALWAYS MASK UP INDOORS!'
COVID cases have been surging in nearly all U.S. states – and in Congress – with the emergence of the Delta variant, which was first detected in India.
Some areas of the country, like Los Angeles, have reimplemented mask mandates for vaccinated and unvaccinated.
The coronavirus Delta variant has been detected in the U.S. Capitol building, officials revealed on Tuesday.
Beckley called herself 'brave' for fleeing with other Democrats to break quorum and block Republicans from passing two voter rights bills
The White House also admitted there have been more COVID breakthrough cases among staff than publicly announced.
'The Delta variant virus has been detected in Washington, DC and in the Capitol buildings,' Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the attending physician of the Capitol wrote in a memo obtained by DailyMail.com.
He said 'several' aides who have been vaccinated have tested positive for COVID. Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan announced on Monday he had tested positive for COVID despite being vaccinated.
'Several vaccinated Congressional staff members and 1 Member of Congress have acquired infection,' Monahan wrote.
He advised staff to consider wearing face masks as an additional source of protection but noted it is not required by the CDC.
'Vaccinated individuals seeking to further reduce their risk of disease, or further reduce potential risk of transmitting disease to vulnerable household members, may consider additional protective actions such as wearing a well-fitted, medical-grade filtration mask when they are in a crowded or interior location,' he said.
Several lawmakers, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, staff members and members of the media were seen wearing face masks in the Capitol on Tuesday.
The developments comes after it was revealed a White House staffer and one in Speaker Pelosi's office tested positive for COVID after attending an event with Texas Democrats last week.
Additionally on Tuesday, White House press secretary Jen Psaki confirmed there have been other break through cases in the administration but declined to offer details or numbers, saying they had only committed to revealing cases among high-level White House staff.
'We had also committed during the transition that - I think there's hundreds of thousands of people who work on the federal government as you all know - and we committed during the transition, that if it was a commissioned officer, which who are the highest level ranking people in the White House and in the administration, in this building here, that we would make that information publicly available,' she said.
The Delta variant is widely contagious and is causing a 224% spike in cases in the United States. The current vaccines are effective against it. Health officials note that breakthrough COVID cases for vaccinated individuals result in much milder symptoms than for the unvaccinated.
Both the Pelosi staffer and the White House aide were fully vaccinated. The speaker's office and the White House are taking precautions in the aftermath. Some Pelosi staff are working from home and the White House is conducting contact tracing.
'Yesterday, a fully-vaccinated senior spokesperson in the Speaker's Press Office tested positive for COVID after contact with members of the Texas state legislature last week. This individual has had no contact with the Speaker since exposure,' said Pelosi spokesperson Drew Hammill in a statement to DailyMail.com.
'The entire Press Office is working remotely today with the exception of individuals who have had no exposure to the individual or have had a recent negative test. Our office will continue to follow the guidance of the Office of Attending Physician closely,' he added.
Axios first reported the news of the positive tests, reporting it happened after the staffers attended the same rooftop reception with members of the Texas Democratic delegation at the Hotel Eaton last Wednesday night. The downtown DC hotel has a popular rooftop bar.
Six members of the Texas Democratic delegation, who have fled their state to hold up a vote on voting rights legislation, have tested positive for COVID since arriving in Washington D.C.
COVID cases are on the rise across the United States. The U.S. recorded 52,111 new cases on Monday with a seven-day rolling average of 34,682, which is a 224 percent increase from the 10,678 average recorded three weeks ago.
Nearly every state - aside from Montana and Iowa - and the District of Columbia have seen infections rise in the last week, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of Johns Hopkins data.
Several lawmakers wore masks on Capitol Hill on Tuesday as the Delta variant was detected on the campus
Speaker Pelosi was seen wearing a face mask in the Capitol on Tuesday
The U.S. recorded 52,111 new COVID-19 cases on Monday with a seven-day rolling average of 34,682, which is a 224% increase from the 10,678 average recorded three weeks ago
Texas Democrats posted a pic on Tuesday of their virtual meeting with House Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn
'Yesterday, a fully vaccinated White House official tested positive for COVID-19 off campus,' a White House official told DailyMail.com in a statement.
'In accordance with our rigorous COVID-19 protocols, the official remains off campus as they wait for a confirmatory PCR test. The White House Medical Unit has conducted contact tracing interviews and determined no close contacts among White House principals and staff. The individual has mild symptoms.'
The official added: 'The White House is prepared for breakthrough cases with regular testing. This is another reminder of the efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccines against severe illness or hospitalization. We wish our colleague a speedy recovery.'
White House staffers have been vaccinated for COVID but are also regularly tested.
Psaki noted there precautions in place on the White House campus, which makes up the West Wing and the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. She said she is tested twice a week.
'Regular testing of those surrounding and meeting with the president,' she pointed out. 'For those who have closer proximity, they are tested more regularly than those who have less proximity, ensuring those interact with the president are following the CDC guidance regarding mask wearing and distancing actively.'
She added the administration is 'monitoring the health of our campus in the larger community in collaboration with public health and medical experts. We have a robust infrastructure to ensure compliance with these protocols, and we're asking staff to also monitor themselves for symptoms and stay off campus if they develop symptoms.'
If the variant follows the same trajectory as the UK, it is estimated that Delta will account for all new infections by mid-August
Nearly every state - aside from Montana and Iowa - and the District of Columbia have seen infections rise in the last week
Meanwhile, Republican Congressman Steve Scalise announced his got his first vaccine COVID shot on Sunday.
'With the delta variant becoming a lot more aggressive and seeing another spike, it was a good time to do it,' he told his local newspaper, which featured a photo of him getting his shot.
And Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, who had polio as a child, issued a stern warning on Tuesday: 'These shots need to get in everybody's arm as rapidly as possible or we're going to be back in a situation in the fall... that we were in last year.'
A sixth Texas Democrat tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, their caucus confirmed, meaning that around 10 per cent of those who fled the state a week ago to prevent the passage of a voting rights bill are now infected.
Rhetta Bowers of Dallas confirmed the sixth diagnosis, and said that she and others have brought food to those quarantining in their hotel rooms, The Dallas Morning News reports.
The six are all continuing to work remotely, she said.
Democratic Rep. Al Green wears a face mask in a committee hearing on Tuesday
Rhetta Bowers, in red, confirmed on Monday that six of the 55 Texas Democrats have now tested positive for COVID-19, since fleeing to Washington DC a week ago on a private jet
A White House staffer and one in Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office tested positive for COVID after attending an event with Texas Democrats at Hotel Eaton - whose rooftop deck is seen above
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