Rep. Barbara Lee tests positive for COVID-19

WASHINGTON â€”  Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) has tested positive for COVID-19, she said Tuesday in a statement.

Lee, who is fully vaccinated and had also gotten a booster shot, said she received her positive test result this week.

“Fortunately, I have only mild cold-like symptoms, but I know it could have been much worse had I not been vaccinated and boosted,� she said. “I am isolating and will follow all of the required health protocols to keep my loved ones, my staff, and my community safe.�

Lee is at least the fifth member of Congress this week to announce having tested positive for COVID-19. On Sunday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) disclosed their breakthrough cases, a term to describe people who test positive for the coronavirus despite being fully vaccinated. Each lawmaker said they had gotten a booster shot and that their symptoms were mild.

Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.) has also tested positive, according to local media reports.

Earlier Tuesday, President Biden warned that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus could cause breakthrough infections “potentially in large numbers.� The Omicron variant has surpassed the Delta variant as the leading cause of infection. Federal officials reported Monday that nearly three-quarters of new cases last week were caused by Omicron.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Monday that a “mid-level staff member� who had spent about 30 minutes near the president on Air Force One on Friday had tested positive for COVID-19. The staffer was fully vaccinated and boosted, Psaki said, and didn’t experience any symptoms until Sunday.

Biden, who tested negative twice Sunday, will be tested again Wednesday.