Several Lower Bucks County state representatives said they had no idea one of their colleagues tested positive for COVID-19 until a week after the results came in.
State Rep. John Galloway, a Democrat from Falls Township, told this news organization he learned of the case and that several Republicans peers were self-quaniteniing when a reporter started calling around Harrisburg looking for the story.
“It outrageous. There’s no respect for everyone else,” he said of the way he found out.
Galloway wasn’t alone, a number of Democratic members spoke out Thursday and called for an second look at how GOP leaders handled the information after learning State Rep. Andrew Lewis, a Republican from Dauphin County, learned he tested positive in mid-May. In addition, several other Republican self-isolated as a precaution.
News of Lewis’ diagnosis spread like wildfire through the Bucks County delegation and the rest of the state lawmakers who were just finding out Wednesday. Many Democrats were quick to call out the General Assembly GOP leadership for not alerting them they may have had contact with someone who had COVID-19.
LevittownNow.com news partner PA Post reported that House Republican Caucus spokesperson Mike Straub said leadership followed the COVID-19 guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Pennsylvania Department of Health in letting people who may have been exposed to Lewis.
Lewis said in a statement to the press that he was last in the state Capitol building on Thursday, May 14. On Monday, May 18, he was tested and learned he had the virus on Wednesday, May 20.
“I immediately began self-isolation protocol and contacted the House of Representatives, and our caucus Human Resources department,” he said.
Employers in Pennsylvania have been ordered by the state Department of Health to alert employees who had prolonged and close contact with someone who tests positive for COVID-19 from two days before symptoms are apparent to the time at which the person is isolated.
“Out of respect for my family, and those who I may have exposed, I chose to keep my positive case private. Now that I have fully recovered and completed the quarantine as required by the Department of Health, I feel now is the appropriate time to share this information with the public and my constituents and I look forward to being a resource in sharing my experiences with COVID-19 and helping our community navigate this crisis together,” Lewis said in his statement to the media.
State Rep. Brian Sims, a controversial and outspoken Democratic lawmaker from Philadelphia, made national headlines while slamming Republican leadership for not telling Democrats that a lawmaker they may have come in contact with had COVID-19.
“To pick the two or three people that you think might have been most exposed and to secretly tell them while the rest of us didn’t have the benefit of protecting our families, protecting our friends, protecting our own health is criminal,” Sims said.
Sims also called for House Speaker Mike Turzai, a Republican from Allegheny County, to resign.
Turzai has said he was not aware of Lewis’ diagnosis.
State Rep. Russ Diamond, a Republican from Lebanon, was among several elected officials who had to self-isolate due to contact with Lewis. He has bragged in the past weeks about not wearing a mask while shopping in public, calling it “so much winning.”
Following news of his contact with someone diagnosed with COVID-19, Diamond said he self-isolated but his doctor said he did not need to be tested.
“I feel like a million bucks! Well, $500k after lefties tax me,” he said in a tweet.
State Rep. Frank Farry, a Republican from Langhorne Borough who also serves as a fire chief, said he only learned of Lewis’ case this week. He said “none of us are happy” and many Republicans would have liked to know of the COVID-19-positive lawmaker sooner.
However, Farry said the issue has “quite frankly become political.”
State Rep. Wendi Thomas, a Republican who represents Northampton, Wrightstown, Upper Makefield, New Hope, said she was not made aware diagnosis until this week and that she was not exposed.
“I do wear a mask. And recommend you do too,” she said.
“The coverup of the positive COVID-19 case in the House is appalling. When on the House Floor, I try to protect myself, my colleagues, my family and all our residents by wearing a mask and eyeglasses except during those few moments when I have actively spoken at the microphone, touching surfaces including my vote button with a tissue or napkin, frequently washing and sanitizing my hands, standing in the back of the Chamber distancing from others and, quite frankly, consciously avoiding those who refuse to wear masks,” said State Rep. Perry Warren, a Democrat from Newtown Borough.
State Rep. Tina Davis, a Democrat from Bristol Township, stated she was “disappointed” the way the diagnosis was handled.
“Some of [the Republicans] – not all of them – were arrogant and didn’t treat everyone as humans,” she said, noting she has an older mother and mother-in-law who are more at risk for COVID-19.
Galloway was the most vocal in the Levittown area and said he was upset with the way things went down.
“The idea that this happened and you wouldn’t reach out to the Democrats and tell them about it. I don’t know. I don’t get it. We would have helped out,” Galloway said.
The lawmaker said state lawmakers should have the same safety guidelines as convenience stores in regards to wearing a mask and social distancing.
Galloway said Bucks County state representatives – Democrats and Republicans – appear to be taking safety precautions and wearing masks while in Harrisburg, but he said numerous Republicans from other areas do not.
“They laugh about wearing them and shake hands,” he said. “There’s no respect for everyone else.”
For Galloway, who wears a mask and rotates with family members to visit his 94-year-old mother, the lack of notification angers him. He said he believes he even spent time near Lewis during a coffee break in the days before the Republican learned he was sick.
“We should have the same mandatory guidelines as 7-Eleven does,” Galloway said of safety procedures.
State Rep. Kevin Boyle, a Democrat from Philadelphia, raised concerns about how contact tracing following Lewis’ case was handled and stated lawmakers in Harrisburg should be taking precautions to keep everyone healthy.
Boyle asked the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office to look into the matter.
Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office said the matter was not criminal.
“There’s still so much unknown,” Galloway said. “It’s making people think the worst.”
