SAYS THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF CASES IN AUSTRALIA RIGHT NOW
HAVE BEEN IMPORTED.
>>> AND FOR THE FIRST TIME
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS HAVE TESTED
POSITIVE FOR THE CORONAVIRUS.
FLORIDA REPUBLICAN MARIO
DIAZ-BALART AND UTAH DEMOCRAT
BEN McADAMS BOTH UNDER
SELF-QUARANTINE THIS MORNING.
HODA?
HODA? >> ALL RIGHT, SAVANNAH, AND WE
HAVE CONGRESSMAN McADAMS JOINING
US FROM HIS HOME IN SALT LAKE
CITY.
CITY. FIRST QUESTION, HOW ARE YOU
FEELING THIS MORNING?
>> GOOD MORNING, HODA, I’M
FEELING PRETTY BAD.
I THINK THIS IS PROBABLY THE
WORST COLD I’VE EVER HAD BUT
GETTING BY.
GETTING BY. >> TELL ME ABOUT YOUR SYMPTOMS,
WHAT DO YOU HAVE, WHAT ARE THE
SYMPTOMS OF CORONAVIRUS FOR YOU?
>> IT STARTED OUT SATURDAY
AFTERNOON AND EVENING I WAS
FEELING SICK BUT PRETTY MILD AT
THE TIME.
THE TIME. I CONTACTED A DOCTOR WHO SAID
THAT MY SYMPTOMS DIDN’T JUSTIFY
TESTING WHEN I HAD A TEMPERATURE
OF ABOUT 100.
AND THE COUGH.
BUT THAT I SHOULD STAY IN TOUCH
IF IT GOT WORSE.
ON MONDAY NIGHT, GOING INTO
TUESDAY MY SYMPTOMS REALLY TOOK
A TURN FOR THE WORSE.
I HAD A TEMPERATURE OF ABOUT
103.
103. MY LUNGS ARE REALLY CONSTRICTED.
FELT LIKE I HAD A BELT AROUND MY
CHEST.
CHEST. I COULDN’T BREATHE DEEPLY.
AND I CONTACTED MY DOCTOR THEN
AND HE SAID THAT BASED ON MY
SYMPTOMS, THEY HAD AGGRAVATED SO
CIG NANT
CIG NANT SIGNIFICANTLY.
SIGNIFICANTLY. >> YOU GUYS HAVE YOUR WIFE AND
KIDS IN THE HOUSE.
YOU’RE SOCIAL DISTANCING.
>> IT’S A FULL ON QUARANTINE,
NOT LEAVING THE HOUSE FOR
ANYTHING.
ANYTHING. WE WANT TO, YOU KNOW, FOLLOW THE
CDC GUIDELINES TO THE TEE TO
MAKE SURE WE DON’T TAKE ANY
RISKS TO PUT ANYBODY ELSE AT
RISK OF EXPOSURE.
>> LET’S BREAK THIS DOWN.
SATURDAY MORNING CONGRESS WAS IN
SESSION.
SESSION. AND THEY WERE HAVING A VOTE,
THERE WERE 400 MEMBERS OF
CONGRESS THERE, SATURDAY
REPRESENTATIVE DIAZ-BALART OF
FLORIDA FELT CRUMMY, HE WAS
DIAGNOSED.
DIAGNOSED. LIKE YOU SAID ON SATURDAY NIGHT
AFTER YOU GOT HOME, YOU WERE
FEELING CRUMMY, YOU WERE
DIAGNOSED.
DIAGNOSED. HOW CONCERNED ARE YOU FOR ALL OF
THOSE MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WHO
WERE WITH YOU, AND VOTING ON
THAT SATURDAY?
THAT SATURDAY? >> I THINK WE ARE CONCERNED.
SO WHAT I’VE BEEN TOLD BY THE
HEALTH PHYSICIAN IS THAT ANYONE
WHO HAD CLOSE CONTACT WITH ME
FROM FRIDAY ONWARD SHOULD BE
CONCERNED AND SHOULD PROBABLY
TAKE PRECAUTIONS.
TAKE PRECAUTIONS. SO THERE AREN’T A LOT OF MEMBERS
WITH WHOM I HAD CLOSE CONTACT.
THEY SAID THAT NOT JUST WALKING
DOWN TO THE FLOOR AND VOTING
PROBABLY DOESN’T QUALIFY AS A
RISK TO SOMEONE, BUT MEMBERS
WITH WHOM I HAD CLOSE CONTACT,
THERE’S A CONCERN THERE.
>> IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR
CONGRESS TO CONTINUE TO DO
BUSINESS DURING THESE DIFFICULT
TIMES AND IF OTHER MEMBERS OF
CONGRESS END UP GETTING SICK
LIKE YOU GUYS HOW DO YOU EXPECT
BUSINESS TO CONTINUE?
>> I THINK THAT’S A GREAT
QUESTION.
QUESTION. YOU KNOW, I AM HOME AT LEAST FOR
TWO WEEKS AND THE FEW MEMBERS
THAT I HAD CONTACT WITH IN THAT
PERIOD PROBABLY SHOULD BE
QUARANTINED AS WELL.
AND SO IT’S -- IT DOES PLACE A
LIMIT ON THE ABILITY OF CONGRESS
TO GET STUFF DONE.
RIGHT NOW I DON’T THINK IT
APPROACHES THE LEVEL OF HAVING A
QUORUM BUT CERTAINLY WHERE WE
LIMITED SOCIAL GATHERINGS TO NO
MORE THAN TEN IT’S SOMETHING WE
SHOULD THINK ABOUT WITH CONGRESS
HAVING 435 MEMBERS AND GATHERING
FOR VOTES.
FOR VOTES. >> YOU’VE GOT TO DO THINGS.
YOU’VE GOT TO GET BUSINESS DONE.
WOULD YOU DO REMOTE VOTING?
WHAT’S THE ANSWER THERE?
>> REMOTE VOTING IS NOT
CURRENTLY ALLOWED UNDER HOUSE
RULES.
RULES. I THINK WE NEED TO CONSIDER
CHANGING THAT UNDER CERTAIN
PROVISIONS.
PROVISIONS. THERE’S VALUE IN HAVING OUTSIDE
OF THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY THAT
WE’RE IN, HAVING MEMBERS OF
CONGRESS COME TOGETHER AND TALK
ABOUT BILLS BEFORE THEY VOTE ON
THEM BUT PERHAPS UNDER THE STATE
OF A DECLARED NATIONAL EMERGENCY
THAT’S SOMETHING THAT SHOULD BE
AVAILABLE TO THE CONGRESS.
>> NOW, A COUPLE OF MINUTES AGO
WE DID A STORY ON CERTAIN PEOPLE
BEING ABLE TO GET TESTED.
WE’VE TALKED ABOUT SOME ATHLETES
AND WE TALKED ABOUT SOME PEOPLE
WHO WERE IN HOLLYWOOD.
AND WE’VE TALKED ABOUT SOME
CONGRESS PEOPLE.
CONGRESS PEOPLE. WHAT DO YOU HAVE TO SAY TO
PEOPLE WHO SAY, WELL, I ACTUALLY
HAD SIMILAR SYMPTOMS, JUST LIKE
YOU, BUT THEY WOULDN’T TEST ME,
YET YOU GOT TESTED?
>> WELL, FIRST OF ALL WE HAVE TO
EXPAND THE AVAILABILITY OF
TESTING.
TESTING. WHEN I FIRST WAS FEELING
SYMPTOMS MY DOCTOR SAID THAT
THEY DIDN’T QUALIFY FOR TESTING,
THAT I SHOULD JUST QUARANTINE, I
SHOULD STAY AT HOME BUT THEY
WEREN’T BAD ENOUGH TO JUSTIFY A
TEST.
TEST. AND FORTUNATELY I’M ABLE TO WORK
FROM HOME BUT I THINK OF OTHER
PEOPLE WHO AREN’T ABLE TO WORK
FROM HOME AND THERE WERE TIMES
WHERE I WAS REALLY SICK AND
THERE WERE TIMES WHERE I FELT
BETTER AND I CAN IMAGINE
SOMEBODY HAVING THE TEMPTATION
TO GET OUT AND GO TO WORK.
THAT’S WHY WE’VE GOT TO TEST
PEOPLE EARLIER.
PEOPLE EARLIER. SHOULDN’T BE WHEN SYMPTOMS ARE
SO BAD THAT JUSTIFIES A TEST.
WE SHOULD HAVE AN ABUN DANSY OF
TESTS SO PEOPLE CAN BE TESTED
EARLIER SO WE CAN STOP THE
SPREAD OF THE SICKNESS.
>> CONGRESSMAN BEN McADAMS, WE
WISH YOU ALL THE BEST.