Utah Reps. Mark Strong and Angela Romero each said on Friday that they’d recently tested positive for COVID-19.
“I did test positive and am carefully following [the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention] recommendations,” Strong, a Bluffdale Republican confirmed, in a text message Friday morning.
Alexa Roberts, a communications manager for the Utah House of Representatives, said Strong began experiencing symptoms last week and has been following the recommended health guidelines.
“He’s been symptom free for several days and been wearing a mask,” she said in an email.
Romero announced she had COVID-19 during a House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee meeting on Friday afternoon. The Salt Lake City Democrat, who joined the meeting virtually, said she’d been infected while at the Capitol building and planned to isolate from home into next week.
Neither Strong nor Romero provided exact timelines of when they tested positive for the virus.
Strong, while wearing a mask, attended Utah Gov. Spencer Cox’s second annual State of the State address Thursday evening at the packed House chamber.
Romero was seen wearing a mask on the House floor throughout the week.
The CDC recommends that people who test positive for COVID-19 be isolated for a minimum of five days and wear a mask around others for an additional five days.
Utah Senate President Stuart Adams, who tested positive for COVID-19 last week, tested positive again Tuesday morning ahead of opening the 2022 general session.
The Legislature has different rules in each chamber for COVID-19 testing during the session. In the Senate, testing is optional for lawmakers and their staff, while the House requires twice-weekly testing.
Utah is currently encountering an influx of cases fueled by the omicron variant. State health officials on Friday reported 11,601 new COVID-19 cases since Thursday.
