Texas Lawmaker in D.C. on Testing Positive for COVID-19: ‘Let This Be a Reminder’

On Monday, 51 Texas lawmakers boarded planes to Washington, D.C. The legislators, the bulk of the Texas House of Representatives Democratic delegation, had fled their state in hopes of stopping a vote on bills that would change the times and ways that citizens in the state may vote, as well as the experience Texans may have while casting a ballot. The Democrats say the proposed laws would come with the very real possibility of voter suppression and intimidation; one measure in question, for example, would allow untrained and armed poll watchers to stand close enough to voters to see how they vote. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] On Saturday, that developing political story ran headlong into the realities of the ongoing pandemic, when three of the Texas Democrats reported testing positive for COVID-19. Read more: In Texas, Democrats Go All In to Fight Voting Restrictions All three lawmakers had been vaccinated, according to their caucus, as have most other members of the Texas House of Representatives. Among those who had tested positive Saturday were state Rep. Celia Israel, 57, a Democrat representing a district that includes Austin and nearby suburbs. The district, where people of color make up the majority of residents, reports one of the higher vaccination rates in the state. It’s made up mostly of Travis County, where 61.84% of residents 12 and over have, like their representative, been fully vaccinated. Statewide, about 59% of all Texas residents in...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news