South Carolina Congressman Tests Positive for COVID-19

Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.) addresses the crowd at the 2019 South Carolina Democratic Party State Convention in Columbia, South Carolina, on June 22, 2019. Sean Rayford/Getty Images

Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.) has tested positive for the CCP virus and has been in self-quarantine since March 19, he said in a statement on Friday.

Cunningham, 37, said he feels fine despite the diagnosis.

“I entered self-quarantine after I received word from the Attending Physician of the U.S. Congress that I had been in contact with a member of Congress who had since tested positive for COVID-19,” he wrote.

The Epoch Times refers to the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, as the CCP virus because the Chinese Communist Party’s coverup and mismanagement allowed the virus to spread throughout China before it was transmitted worldwide.

“I have been unable to smell or taste, which I learned this week is a potential symptom of COVID-19,” he added. A number of COVID-19 patients have reported similar symptoms, and some doctors have called on healthcare providers to add those conditions into screening protocols.

“I have been in contact with my doctor since I entered self-quarantine. Yesterday, my doctor instructed me to get tested for COVID-19 and ... I went to my local testing clinic. Today, I learned that I tested positive,” Cunningham added.

Cunningham said that he will continue to work from home as members Congress tried to pass the sweeping $2 trillion stimulus bill as businesses have closed down and unemployment claims skyrocket. The House on Friday passed the Senate bill and will soon be signed by President Donald Trump.

“My office will continue its urgent work of serving the people of the Lowcountry” in South Carolina, he said. “Just now, the House passed bipartisan legislation that includes provisions I fought for and secured to deliver much-needed relief for South Carolina families and small businesses. I am grateful that my family remains in good health and urge South Carolinians to follow the guidance and recommendations from the CDC and other health experts so that we can recover from this public health threat.”

The British Rhinological Society and the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery both noted symptoms including a lack of smell or taste.

“Anosmia, in particular, has been seen in patients ultimately testing positive for the coronavirus with no other symptoms,” said the American Academy in a statement on Monday, adding that it would “warrant serious consideration for self-isolation and testing of these individuals.”

“It is therefore perhaps no surprise that the novel COVID-19 virus would also cause anosmia in infected patients,” Professor Claire Hopkins wrote on Sunday in a report. Patients from Italy, China, and South Korea have been known to have the symptom. She said more than two-thirds of confirmed German patients have experienced it.

Utah Jazz star Rudy Gobert, who tested positive for the CCP virus, wrote on social media that he could neither smell nor taste for several days.