Rep. Tlaib tests positive for COVID-19 amid high-profile D.C. surge

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Representative Rashida Tlaib, a Democrat from Michigan, left, speaks during a panel discussion during a campaign event for Senator Bernie Sanders, an independent from Vermont and 2020 presidential candidate, in Clive, Iowa, U.S., on Friday, Jan. 31,

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WASHINGTON - U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib is the latest politician to test positive for COVID-19 amid a wave of cases among Washington leaders.

"I've tested positive for COVID-19," the representative from Michigan tweeted Monday. "After not feeling well over the weekend, I took an at home and PCR test. I am home quarantining and recovering."

"Please stay safe, everyone," she continued.

In Washington D.C., the outbreak has been particularly high profile — striking multiple Cabinet secretaries and Congress members along with Mayor Muriel Bowser and the president of Georgetown University.

At least a dozen of those infections can be traced to the Gridiron Club dinner, an annual fixture of the D.C. social calendar that took place Saturday for the first time in three years. The dinner is an example of a return to near-total normality that’s taking place around the country, leading to a spike in positive tests, but not necessarily a corresponding spike in serious illnesses or hospitalizations.

Talib neither mentioned if she attended the dinner nor how she thinks she contracted the virus.

Washington has experienced a rush of new COVID-19 cases as restrictions have lifted and more events and gatherings are happening across Washington, D.C.

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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tested positive for COVID-19, a day after appearing unmasked at a White House event with President Joe Biden. Pelosi, D-Calif., received a positive test result for COVID-19 and is currently asymptomatic, her spokesman Drew Hammill said Thursday in a tweet. He said she had tested negative earlier in the week.

The White House said Biden and Pelosi had only "brief interactions over the course of the last two days" and that the president was not considered a close contact of the speaker by CDC guidance — sustained unmasked contact within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes over a 24-hour period.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.