Pelosi Expanding COVID-19 Testing for House Members

The Air Force will provide up to 2,000 COVID-19 tests every week to members of the House as the coronavirus pandemic drags on.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Democratic Party leadership Thursday of the new plan, which will involve tests that take six to 12 hours to return results, according to Politico.

Pelosi consulted with Dr. Brian Monahan, who serves as the attending physician for Congress, before making the decision to offer expanded testing for lawmakers. The program is initially designed to last six weeks.

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Thursday that visitors to the district must have a negative COVID-19 test within three days of entering the city. People staying for longer than three days are also required to undergo a test after they arrive.

It's not clear, however, whether the guidelines apply to members of the House and Senate.

COVID-19 testing is already available at the U.S. Capitol, but the new program will expand that effort, at least in the House chamber, as the number of cases in the U.S. spikes to more than 100,000 new infections every day.

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