DC mayor tests positive for COVID-19

by Mychael Schnell - 04/07/22 11:07 AM ET

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) speaks during a ceremony to unveil a statue of Pierre L'Enfant by artist Gordon Kray on Monday, February 28, 2022. — Greg Nash

Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) on Thursday announced she has tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the latest high-profile figure in the nation’s capital to contract the virus.

Bowser said she tested positive with an at-home rapid test on Wednesday after experiencing allergy symptoms over the past week. A PCR test later confirmed her diagnosis.

The mayor said she is experiencing “mild cold-like/allergy-like symptoms” and will work from home while adhering to isolation protocols. She is fully vaccinated and boosted.

“Friends — Yesterday, I tested positive for COVID. After experiencing allergy symptoms this week, I took an at-home test yesterday and a PCR test confirmed the positive result,” Bowser wrote on Twitter.

“Prayerfully, my household will remain negative. I continue to experience mild cold-like/allergy-like symptoms. I’m grateful that I can work at home while following isolation protocols,” she added in a separate tweet.

Bowser is the latest Washington figure to announce a COVID-19 diagnosis this week. Attorney General Merrick Garland, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Jamal Simmons, Vice President Harris’s communications director, all revealed on Wednesday that they have tested positive.

On Tuesday, Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) also said they have contracted the virus.

Those five attended the Gridiron Club dinner in Washington on Saturday night. The event is an annual gathering of high-profile guests in the nation’s capital featuring skits and roasts knocking politicians and other prominent people.

Reps. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) and Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), who did not attend the event, also tested positive this week.

Bowser’s office told The Hill that the mayor did not attend the dinner.

The number of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. has been on a downward trend since mid-January, when infections spiked largely because of the highly transmissible omicron variant.

Daily cases are also down in D.C., but weekly infections did slightly increase from the week starting March 20 to the week starting March 27, according to the city’s COVID-19 website.