Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) said she has “thankfully recovered” and is “completing quarantine” after announcing she tested positive for COVID-19 and has symptoms on Jan. 9 .
“That’s how it happened. I have COVID probably omicron,” she wrote on Instagram Saturday in the caption of a post that included an image of both positive and negative rapid tests, as well as a photo of her hugging her French bulldog Deco.
“COVID is no joke,” she wrote. “I have noted for some time that the term ‘mild’ is misleading when it comes to hospitalization and death. Even “mild” cases can lead to long-term COVID, which includes a range of conditions such as cognitive impairment, POTS and chronic fatigue.”
The New York Democrat said her message was not meant to create fear, but to remind people to be careful, wear N95 masks in crowded areas like shops, and rest if infected.
The legislator’s office said she was fully vaccinated and received a booster shot in the fall.
In her post, Ocasio-Cortez also criticized the recently updated guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which halved the recommended isolation time for people with COVID-19 to five days. Some major employers have subsequently reduced their sick leave in accordance with updated guidelines.
“The idea of getting people to work just 5 days after the onset of symptoms is sociopathic and 100% based on a culture that accepts sacrificing human lives for profit as a fair trade,” the legislator wrote.
She encouraged followers to build on and support their communities and make decisions to protect not only themselves but those around them.
The Democrat is one of more than 115 members of Congress who have tested positive for the virus, according to the GovTrack website.
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