Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

The First Member Of Congress Has Tested Positive For The Coronavirus

Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Florida Republican, and Utah Democrat Ben McAdams have become the first members of Congress to announce they tested positive for COVID-19.

Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart and Ben McAdams announced Wednesday that they have tested positive for the coronavirus, becoming the first members of Congress to do so since the pandemic was declared.

Diaz-Balart, a 58-year-old Republican from Florida, said he began experiencing symptoms on Saturday “including a fever and headache,” according to a statement from his office. He was informed that he tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, on Wednesday.

"I want everyone to know that I am feeling much better,” the lawmaker said in the statement. “However, it is important that everyone take this extremely seriously and follow CDC guidelines in order to avoid getting sick and mitigate the spread of this virus. We must continue to work together to emerge stronger as a country during these trying times.”

Later on Wednesday, McAdams announced his diagnosis on Twitter, saying he got tested after developing "a fever, a dry cough and labored breathing."

He added that he continued to work from home under self quarantine.


At the start of the 116th Congress, the average age of House representatives was 57.6 years, and the average age among senators was 62.9 years, according to the Congressional Research Service. Many members are in their seventies and eighties, putting them at the highest risk for the disease.

While the House is currently out on recess with members back home in their districts, the Senate has continued to work in spite of the national recommendation that people not gather in groups of more than 10 people. The House is expected to return as well; both chambers are working on legislation to address the coronavirus.

Although Diaz-Balart and McAdams are the first members of Congress to be diagnosed with the disease, several others have self-quarantined in recent days after contact with someone who has been tested positive. This includes Sen. Ted Cruz and Reps. Matt Gaetz and Doug Collins, all of whom did so after coming into contact with a person last month at the Conservative Political Action Conference who was diagnosed with the disease. Gaetz and Collins each also met with President Donald Trump following the conference.

Cruz extended his original self-quarantine after learning he had interacted with a second person who tested positive. He concluded his quarantine Tuesday.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, a top ally of Trump's, also self-quarantined on Thursday, March 12, after coming into contact with at least two individuals who tested positive for the disease. He announced on Twitter on Sunday night that his test came back negative.

Graham had been at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago property the weekend of March 7 with the president as well as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, whose press secretary recently tested positive.

Democratic Rep. Julia Brownley was the first member of Congress to self-quarantine after coming into contact with a person who tested positive who was not at CPAC. Sen. Rick Scott announced last week that he, too, was self-quarantining after being in contact with a member of the Brazilian delegation who tested positive.

“My office was alerted today by the Brazilian Embassy that a member of President Bolsanaro’s delegation tested positive for Coronavirus. On Monday, I met with [Bolsanaro] in Miami, and while I do not believe I interacted with the infected person, that individual was in the same room as me,” Scott said in a statement.

Scott said he had no symptoms and was quarantining out of an abundance of caution.

Rep. Jason Crow, who served as one of the Democratic impeachment managers, announced Tuesday that he was self-quarantining as well after interacting with a constituent who tested positive.

Diaz-Balart is not the first major Florida politician to test positive for the disease — Miami Mayor Francis Suarez said last week that he had contracted COVID-19 after meeting with Bolsonaro.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×